The bar owner was deleted for liqueur storage during Covid

Hyderabad: The High Court Talangana annulled the criminal procedures against the owners of a bar and restaurant who was accused of keeping and illegally sold liqueur during Covid-19 blocking. Judge Juvvadi Sridevi believed that the accusations under the Indian Criminal Code (IPC), the Law on epidemic diseases and the Law on Telangan excise duty were not legally sustainable against the petitioners, because the accusations had no substantial evidence. The judge occupied by the criminal petitions filed by Teegala Ajay Goud and Theegala Shekar Goud, the owners of a bar and restaurant. They have been accused of various crimes within the CPI, which deal with the spread of infectious diseases. In addition, they were accused under section 3 of the Law on epidemic diseases that refer to Covid-19 protocols and section 34 (a) of the Law of Telaganic excise duties, which penalize illegal liquor sales. The case was registered against the petitioners, after the police confiscated bottles of liqueur from the first floor of their unit during the blocking, claiming that they intend to sell the stock on the black market. The petitioners claimed that they have a valid excise license and did not engage in sales or illegal transport. They claimed that the liqueur was legally kept in their spaces and that the accusations failed to establish a violation of the cited legal provisions. The judge considered that the simple holding of goods constitutes an offense unless there is clear evidence of sale or public injury. In particular, the criminal prosecution has failed to produce any witness statement or a documentary proof that shows that the petitioners sold liqueur at higher prices. Consequently, the judge annulled the criminal case against the petitioners, deciding that the simple possession of a liquor within an authorized unit does not constitute an offense.