Chapter VI DETENTION, INVESTIGATION AND TRIAL OF OFFENCES

The Excise Commissioner or any authorized excise officer may by order, require any person or any establishment deemed reasonably connected with any unlawful handling of any intoxicant to furnish to him such information as may be specified in the order.

(1) Whenever any liquor is manufactured, imported, exported, transported, collected, possessed or sold in contravention of this Act, the owner or occupier of the land or building or his agent, and every officer of police, land revenue department, local bodies and block development office shall, in the absence of reasonable excuse, be bound to give notice of the fact to an officer of the excise department as soon as the fact comes to his knowledge. (2) Every person referred to in sub-section (1) shall be bound to assist the' excise officers in carrying out the provisions of this Act. (3) Every excise officer shall be bound to give immediate information to the Deputy Commissioner, of all breaches of any of the provisions of this Act, which may come to his knowledge under sub-section (1) or otherwise.

(1) Any excise officer, may search any place, seize any article and arrest or detain any person if there is a reasonable doubt about them being involved in the commission of an offence under this Act: PROVIDED that no search shall be deemed to be irregular by reason only of the fact that witness for the search is not inhabitant of the locality in which the place searched is situated. (2) Save as otherwise expressly provided in this Act, the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) relating to search, seizure, arrest, detention, summons and investigation shall apply, as far as may be, to all actions taken in these respects under this Act.

Every officer-in-charge of a police station shall take charge of and keep in safe custody, pending the order of the Magistrate or the Deputy Commissioner, all articles seized under this Act which may be delivered to him and shall allow the excise officer who may accompany such articles, to affix his seal to such articles and to take samples of and from them.

All major offences under this Act shall be cognizable and the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) shall apply to them.

All offences punishable under this Act with imprisonment of two years and more, shall be non-bailable and the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) with respect to non-bailable offences, shall apply to those offences.

Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), all offences under this Act punishable with fine or with imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years shall be tried in a summary way by a Metropolitan Magistrate and the provisions of sections 262 to 265 (both inclusive) of the said Code shall as far as may be, apply to such trial: PROVIDED that in the case of any conviction in a summary trial under this section, it shall be lawful for the Metropolitan Magistrate to pass a sentence of imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year: PROVIDED FURTHER that when at the commencement of, or in the course of, a summary trial under this section, it appears to the Metropolitan Magistrate that the

(1) Whenever any person is convicted of an offence punishable under this Act and the court convicting him is of opinion that such person habitually commits or attempts or commit, or abets the commission of any such offence and that it is necessary to require such person to execute a bond for abstaining from the commission of any such offence, the court may, at the time of passing sentence on such person, order him to execute a bond for a sum proportionate to his means, with or without sureties, for abstaining from the commission of such offence during such period, not exceeding three years, as it thinks fit to fix. (2) The bond shall be in the prescribed form in terms of the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) and shall insofar as they are applicable, apply to all matters connected with such bond to as if it were a bond to keep the peace ordered to be executed under section 106 of that Code. (3) If the conviction is set aside on appeal or otherwise, the bond so executed shall become void. (4) An order under this section may also be made by an Appellate Court or by the High Court when exercising its power of revision.