No HC relief for Daman wine shop owner facing bootlegging charges

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat high court refused to grant any relief to a wine shop owner in Daman who is facing a trial for bootlegging in Surat district, prompting him to withdraw the petition to quash an FIR against him. Ramesh Patel, alias Michael, had filed a quashing petition in the high court after his name surfaced in an FIR in 2015, accusing him of bootlegging.
His and his wife’s names cropped up in the statements given by two accused who were nabbed by the cops and their truck carrying liquor worth Rs 20 lakh seized.
Nine years later, Patel wanted the charges against him to be dropped on the grounds that he owns a liquor shop in Daman, which is a Union territory and where liquor is not a prohibited commodity.
He said his wife too had licences to conduct retail and wholesale liquor business. His counsel argued that a person cannot be booked merely on the basis of statements given by the co-accused. Moreover, the couple owns a shop and there was no illegality committed in selling the liquor stock since the Gujarat Prohibition Act is not applicable in Daman, it was contended. The state govt opposed Patel’s plea, stating that since a huge quantity of liquor was seized, it was necessary to interrogate him.
Justice Nirzar Desai was not inclined to quash the FIR and pointed out from the case papers that the police investigation revealed that several phone calls were made between the applicant and the men arrested in the case. As the court was reluctant in granting relief to Patel, his lawyer withdrew the petition.
Earlier this year, Daman Wine Merchants’ Association filed a PIL complaining that Gujarat police booked wine sellers from the Union territory in prohibition cases based on the statements given by bootleggers and requested the court’s intervention. The HC, however, turned down the PIL terming it “misconceived”.