https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=462214 Conviction for an excise offence can be sustained on the testimony of official witnesses if, on an overall appraisal of the evidence, that testimony is trustworthy and sufficient to prove guilt, even where independent witnesses do not support the prosecution case. The Court held that there is no inflexible rule requiring acquittal whenever independent witnesses turn hostile, and distinguished contrary authorities on their facts. The conviction was upheld because the official evidence was consistent and supported by recovery of the working still and seized articles. The sentence was, however, reduced to six months' rigorous imprisonment with fine, with default imprisonment maintained. en-us Tue, 03 Feb 1970 00:00:00 +0530 Mon, 02 Jun 2025 10:24:29 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=462214 Conviction for an excise offence can be sustained on the testimony of official witnesses if, on an overall appraisal of the evidence, that testimony is trustworthy and sufficient to prove guilt, even where independent witnesses do not support the prosecution case. The Court held that there is no inflexible rule requiring acquittal whenever independent witnesses turn hostile, and distinguished contrary authorities on their facts. The conviction was upheld because the official evidence was consistent and supported by recovery of the working still and seized articles. The sentence was, however, reduced to six months' rigorous imprisonment with fine, with default imprisonment maintained. Case-Laws Indian Laws Tue, 03 Feb 1970 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=462214