Panchkula, May 9 -- A local court presided over by chief judicial magistrate (CJM) Ajay Kumar acquitted a man charged with selling illicit liquor under the Excise Act, citing a crucial observation made by the Himachal Pradesh high court in a criminal appeal case decided in 2010.

The Sector 5 police had booked Kunal Singh from Kharag Mangoli, Panchkula, on August 3, 2021, under Section 61 of The Punjab Excise (Haryana Amendment) Act. The prosecution alleged that during patrolling, police had received a tip-off about Singh selling illicit liquor near Cove Hotel. A raid led to the recovery of a plastic sack containing 18 bottles of illicit liquor. Only one bottle was taken as a sample for examination.

The Himachal court had ruled that when...