Sec 50 to 61A Chapter VIII (Detention, Investigation and Trial of Offences)Chhattisgarh Excise Act, 1915

50. Land-holders and others to give information.

Whenever any intoxicant is manufactured or collected, or any hemp plant is cultivated on any land in contravention of this Act -(a)any owner or occupier of such land and any agent of any such owner or occupier; and(b)all village-headmen, village-accountants, village-watchmen, and all officers employed in the collection of revenue or rent of land on the part of the Government or the Court of Wards in the villages, 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, Police or Land Revenue Department, as soon as the fact comes to their knowledge.

51. Power to enter and inspect places of manufacture and sale.

The Excise Commissioner, or a Collector or any Excise Officer not below the rank as the State Government may by notification prescribe, or any Police officer duly empowered in that behalf, may -(a)enter and inspect at any time by day or by night, any place in which any licensed manufacturer manufactures or stores any intoxicant; and(b)enter and inspect, at any time within the hours during which sale is permitted and at any other time during which the same be open, any place in which any intoxicant is kept for sale by any person holding a licence under this Act; and(c)examine accounts and registers, and examine, test, measure or weigh any materials, stills, utensils, implements, apparatus or intoxicant found in such place.

52. Power to arrest without warrant to seize article liable to confiscation and to make searches.

(1)Any Excise Officer, or any Police Officer not below such rank as the State Government may, by notification, prescribe, or single officer or class of officers of the Revenue Department duly empowered in this behalf by notification of the State Government, subject to such restrictions as the State Government may prescribe, and any other person, duly empowered by notification of the State Government in this behalf -(a)may arrest without warrant any person found committing an offence punishable under Section 23-A, 34, 35, 36, 36-A, 36-B, 36-C, 37, 38-A, 40 or 49A; and(b)shall seize and detain any intoxicant or other articles which he has reason to believe to be liable to confiscation under this Act or any other law for the time being in force relating to excise-revenue; and(c)may detain and search any person upon whom, and any vessel, craft vehicle, animal, package, receptacle, or covering in or upon which he may have reasonable cause to suspect any such article to be.(2)When any person is accused or reasonably suspected of committing an offence under this Act, and on demand of such officer refuses to give his name and residence or gives a name and residence which such officer has reason to believe to be false, he may be arrested by such officer in order that his name and residence may be ascertained.

53. Power of Magistrate to issue a warrant.

If a Magistrate, upon information and after such inquiry (if any) as he thinks necessary, has reason to believe that an offence under Section 34, Section 35, Section 36, Section 36-A, Section 36-B, Section 36-C, Section 37, Section 38, Section 38-A, Section 39, or Section 40 has been, is being or is likely to be, committed, he may issue a warrant -(a)for the search of any place in which he has reason to believe that any intoxicant still, utensil, implement, apparatus or materials which are used for the commission of such offence or in respect of which such offence has been, is being or is likely to be, committed, are kept or concealed; and(b)for the arrest of any person whom he has reason to believe to have been, to be, or to be likely to be engaged in the commission of any such offence.

54. Power to search without a warrant.

Whenever any Excise Officer not below such rank as the State Government may, by notification, prescribe, has reason to believe that an offence under Section 34, Section 35, Section 36, Section 36-A, Section 36-B, Section 36-C, Section 37, Section 38, Section 38-A, Section 39, or Section 40 has been, is being or is likely to be, committed, and that a search-warrant cannot be obtained without affording the offender an opportunity of escape or of concealing evidence of the offence he may after recording the grounds of his belief, -(a)at any time, by day or night, enter and search any place and seize anything found therein which he has reason to believe to be liable to confiscation under this Act; and(b)detain and search and, if he thinks proper, arrest any person found in such place whom he has reason to believe to be guilty of such offence as aforesaid.

54A. Arrest without warrant for obstruction or assault.

Any Excise Officer, not below such rank as the State Government may by notification specify, may arrest without warrant any person who obstructs or assaults him in the execution of his duty under this Act.Provided that every person arrested under this section shall be admitted to bail by the person arresting, if sufficient bail be tendered for his appearance before a Magistrate or before a Police or Excise Officer, as the case may be.

55. Powers of Excise Officers in matters of investigation.

(1)Any Excise Officer not below such rank and within such specified area, as the State Government may, by notification, prescribe, may, as regards offence under Section 34, Section 35, Section 36, Section 36-A, Section 38-A, Section 39, Section 40 and Section 40-A exercise the powers conferred on an officer-in-charge of a police station by the provision of Chapter XII of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (No. 2 of 1974):Provided that any such powers shall be subject to such restrictions and modifications (if any) as the State Government may by rule prescribe.(2)For the purposes of Section 156 of the said Code the area in regard to which an Excise Officer is empowered under sub-section (1) shall be deemed to be a police station, and such officer shall be deemed to be the officer in charge of the station.(3)Any such officer, specially empowered in that behalf by the State Government, may, without reference to a Magistrate and for reasons to be recorded by him in writing, stop further proceedings against any person concerned or supposed to be concerned in any offence against this Act which he has investigated or which may have been reported to him.

56. Report by investigation officer.

If on an investigation by an Excise Officer empowered under sub-section (1) of Section 55, it appears that there is sufficient evidence to justify the prosecution of the accused, the investigating officer, unless he proceeds under sub-section (3) of Section 55, of shall submit a report which shall for the purposes of Section 190 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (No. 2 of 1974), be deemed to be a police report to a Judicial Magistrate having jurisdiction to inquire into or try the case and empowered to take cognizance of offences on police reports.

57. Report by Excise Officer.

Where any Excise Officer below the rank of Collector makes any arrest, seizure or search under this Act, he shall, within twenty four hours thereafter, make a full report of all the particulars of the arrest, seizure or search to his immediate official Superior, and shall, unless bail be accepted under Section 59, take or send the person arrested, or the thing seized, with all convenient despatch, to a Judicial Magistrate for trial or adjudication.

57A. Police to take charge of articles seized.

An officer in charge of a police station shall take charge of and keep in safe custody pending the orders of a Magistrate or an Excise Officer, all articles seized under this Act which may be delivered to him, and shall allow any Excise Officer who may accompany such articles to the police station, or who may be depted for the purpose by his superior officer, to affix his seal to such articles and to take samples of and from them. All samples so taken shall also be sealed with the seal of the officer in charge of the police station.

58. Arrests, searches etc., how to be made.

Save as in this Act otherwise expressly provided the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (No. 2 of 1974) relating to arrest, detentions in custody, searches, summons, warrants of arrests, search warrants, the production of persons arrested, and the disposal of things seized, shall apply, as far as may be, to all action taken in these respects under this Act.

59. Security for appearance in case of arrests without, warrant.

(1)All offences except those specified in Section 59-A punishable under this Act shall be bailable within the meaning of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (No. 2 of 1974).(2)When a person is arrested under this Act otherwise than on warrant by a person or officer who has no authority to release arrested persons on bail, he shall be produced before or forwarded to -(a)the nearest Excise Officer who has authority to release arrested persons on bail, or(b)the nearest officer in charge of a police station, whoever is nearer.(3)Whenever any person arrested under this Act, otherwise than on a warrant, is prepared to give bail, and is arrested by, or produced in accordance with sub-section (2), before an officer who has authority to release arrested persons on bail, he shall be released upon bail or, at the discretion of the officer releasing him, on his own bond.(4)The provisions of Sections 441 to 444 and 446 and 449 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (No. 2 of 1974), shall apply so far as may be, in every case in which bail is accepted or a bond taken under this section.

59A. Certain offence under the Act to be non-bailable.

Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (No. 2 of 1974) or Section 59 of the Act,(i)no application for an anticipatory bail shall be entertained by any court in respect of a person accused of an offence punishable under Section 49-A or in respect of a person not being a person holding a licence under the Act or rules made thereunder who is accused of an offence covered by clause (a) or clause (b) of subsection (1) of Section 34 with quantity of liquor found at the time or in the course of detection of such offence exceeding [five bulk litre] [Substituted by C.G. Act No. 8 of 2011, dated 30.4.2011.].(ii)a person, accused of an offence punishable under Section 49-A or a person not being a person holding a licence under the Act or rules made thereunder who is accused or an offence covered by clause (a) or clause (b) of sub-section (1) of Section 34 of with quantity of liquor found at the time or in the course of detection of such offence exceeding [five bulk litre] [Substituted by C.G. Act No. 8 of 2011, dated 30.4.2011.] shall not be released on bail or on his own bond unless the Public Prosecutor has been given an opportunity to oppose the application for such release and in case such an application is opposed by the Public Prosecutor, unless the court is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accused is not guilty of such offence and that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail:Provided that no court shall order for detention of such person in custody during the course of investigation for total period exceeding 60 days where it relates to an offence covered by clause (a) or clause (b) of sub-section (1) of Section 34 with quantity of liquor found at the time or in the course of detection of the offence exceeding fifty bulk litres and 120 days where it relates to an offence under Section 49-A and on the expiry of such period of 60 days or 120 days, as the case may be, and in the event of the report of complaint not being filed the accused shall be released on furnishing bail.(iii)the limitations for grant of bail specified in clause (ii) are in addition to limitations prescribed under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (No. 2 of 1974) or any other law for the time being in force regarding grant of bail.

60. Section 60. [Omitted.]

61. Limitation of prosecutions.

(1)No court shall take cognizance of an offence punishable-(a)under Section 37, Section 38, Section 38-A, Section 39, except on a complaint or report of the Collector or an Excise Officer not below the rank of District Excise Officer as may be authorised by the Collector in this behalf;(b)under any other section of this Act other than Section 49 except on the complaint or report of an Excise Officer or Police Officer.(2)Except with the special sanction of the State Government no Judicial Magistrate shall take cognizance of any offence punishable under this Act, or any rule or order thereunder, unless the prosecution is instituted within six months from the date on which the offence is alleged to have been committed.

61A. Tender of pardon, accused person turning approver.

Whenever two or more persons are prosecuted for an offence under this Act, the Chief Judicial Magistrate or any Magistrate of the first class inquiring into or trying the offence may, for the reasons to be recorded in writing by him, tender to any accused person a pardon on condition of his making a full and true disclosure of all facts connected with the offence.