State of Kerala Excise vs Sandhu Krishnan @ Appu Advocate - Pushpanandan S. — 100831/2022

Case Summary: State of Kerala Excise v. Sandhu Krishnan @ Appu (SC 831/2022) The court acquitted the accused of charges under Section 55(g) of the Kerala Abkari Act for alleged possession of 105 litres of illicit wash. The judgment found critical procedural failures in the prosecution's case, including non-compliance with mandatory sampling, sealing, and custody protocols; unexplained delays between seizure (May 2021) and chemical analysis (January 2022); failure to produce specimen seals for verification; and lack of evidence establishing the accused's conscious possession of the contraband. The court emphasized that strict adherence to tamper-proof procedures is mandatory in excise cases and that dock identification alone cannot establish guilt without corroborative evidence. This case analysis is maintained by casestatus.in based on publicly available court records.