Chapter VI DETECTION, INVESTIGATION AND TRIAL OF OFFENCES

The Excise Commissioner or any authorised Excise Officer may, by order, require any person or any establishment deemed reasonably connected with any unlawful handling of liquor, to furnish to him such information as may be specified in that order.

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1. (1) Whenever any liquor is manufactured, exported, imported or transported, collected, possessed or sold, in contravention of any provisions of this

Regulation, the owner or occupier of the land or building or his agent, and every

officer of police and 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 a Magistrate or to an officer of the Excise Department as soon as the fact

comes to their knowledge.

1. (2) Every Excise Officer shall be bound to give immediate information to his immediate superior, of all breaches of any of the provisions of this Regulation, which may come to his knowledge under sub-section (1) or otherwise. ---

1. (1) The authorised Excise Officer may search any place, or seize any article, or arrest or detain any person, if there is a reasonable doubt that such place, article or person is involved in commission of any offence under this Regulation: 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. (2) Save as otherwise expressly provided in this Regulation, the provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 relating to search, seizure, arrest, detention, summons and investigation shall apply, as far as may be, to all actions taken under this Regulation. ---

Every officer-in-charge of a police station shall take charge of and keep in safe custody, pending the orders of a Magistrate or of the Deputy Commissioner, all articles seized under this Regulation, which may be delivered to him and shall allow any officer of the Excise Department who may accompany such articles, to affix his seal to such articles and to take samples of and from them and all samples so taken shall also be sealed with the seal of the officer-in-charge of the police station. Explanation.For the purposes of this section, officer-in-charge means the Excise Officer authorised to supervise and control manufactory or warehouse.

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All offences under this Regulation shall be cognizable and the provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, shall apply to them.

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The offences punishable under this Regulation with imprisonment of two years and more, shall be non-bailable and the provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, with respect to non-bailable offences, shall apply to those offences.

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Notwithstanding anything contained in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, the Magistrate shall have the power to try summarily in accordance with the provisions contained in sections 285 to 288 of that Sanhita, all or any of

the offences which are punishable under this Regulation with imprisonment for a

term not exceeding six months, or with fine, or with both.

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1. (1) Whenever any person is convicted of an offence punishable under this Regulation and the Court convicting him is of the opinion that such person habitually commits or attempts to commit, or abets the commission of 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. (2) The bond referred to in sub-section (1) shall be in such form in terms of the provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and shall, in so far as they are applicable, apply to all matters connected with such bond as if it were a bond to keep the peace ordered to be executed under section 125 of that Sanhita.
3. (3) If the conviction is set aside on appeal or otherwise, the bond so executed under this section shall become void.
4. (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. ---