43. Power to enter and inspect place of manufacture and sale. -

The Excise Commissioner  or any Excise Officer not below such rank as the 1[State Government] may prescribe may- 

(a) enter and inspect at any time by day or by night any place in which any licenced  manufacturer carries on the manufacture of or stores any excisable article; 

(b) enter and inspect at any time within the hours during which sale is permitted, and at any  other time during which the same may be open, any place in which any excisable article is kept  for sale by any person holding a licence under this Act; 

(c) examine any book, account or registers or examine, test, measure or weigh any materials,  stills, utensils implements apparatus or excisable article found in such place; and 

(d) seize any measures, weights, or testing instruments which he has reason to believe to be  false. 

(Substituted vide Rajasthan Act. No. 38 of 1957)

 

 44. Power of certain officers to investigate into offences punishable under this Act.

(1)  Any officer of the Excise Department not below such rank as the 1[State Government] may  prescribe, may investigate into any offence punishable under this Act committed within the limits  of the area in which such officer exercises jurisdiction. 

 (2)Any such officer may exercise the same powers in respect of such investigation as an if officer-in-charge of a police station may exercise in a cognizable case under the provisions of  3[Chapter XII of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974)]  4[x x x x] and, if specially empowered in that behalf by the 1[State Government], such  officer 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 punishable under this Act into which he has investigated. 

(2. Substituted vide Rajasthan Act. No. 38 of 1957 3. Substituted vide Rajasthan Act. No. 30 of 1976 4. Omitted vide Rajasthan Act. No. 38 of 1957 )

 45. Power of arrest, seizure and detention.

Any officer of the Excise, Police, Salt,  Customs 5[Narcotics] or Land Revenue Department, not below such rank and subject to such  restrictions as the 1[State Government] may prescribe, and any other person duly empowered in  this behalf may arrest without warrant, any person found committing an offence punishable under  this Act and may seize, and detain any excisable article or other article which he has reason to  believe to be liable to confiscation under this Act or other law for the time being in force relating  to excise revenue, and may detain and search any person upon whom and any vessel, raft,  vehicle, animal, package, receptacle or covering in or upon which, he may have reasonable cause  to suspect any such article to be. 

(Substituted vide Rajasthan Act. No. 28 of 1961)

 46. Power of Excise Commissioner or Magistrate to issue warrant for search or arrest. -

The Excise Commissioner 1[or a Magistrate or an Excise Officer duly empowered in this behalf]  having reason to believe that an offence under this Act has been is being, or is likely to be,  committed may - 

(a) issue a warrant for the search of any place in which he has reason to believe that any  excisable article or any utensil implement apparatus or materials, in respect of which such offence  has been, is being or is likely to be committed are kept or concealed, and 

(b) issue a warrant for the arrest of any person whom he has reason to believe to have been  engaged in the commission of any such offence. 

(Inserted vide Rajasthan Act. No. 28 of 1952)

 47. Power of Excise Officer to search without warrant. -

(l) Whenever an officer of the  Excise Department not below such rank as the 2[State Government] may prescribe has reason to  believe that an offence punishable under this Act has been, is being or is likely to be committed in  any place, and that search warrant cannot be obtained without affording the offender an 

opportunity of escape or of concealing evidence of the offence he may, at any time by day or  night enter and search such place: - 

 Provided that such officer shall before entering such place record the grounds of his belief as  aforesaid. 

 (2) Every Excise Officer as aforesaid may seize anything found in such place which he has  reason to believe to be liable to confiscation under this Act and may 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. 

(Substituted vide Rajasthan Act. No. 38 of 1957)

 48. Procedure relating to arrest, searches etc.-

The provisions of the Code of Criminal procedure, 3[1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974)] 4[x x x x] relating to arrest, searches, search warrants,  production of persons arrested and investigation into offences shall be held to be applicable so far  as may be, to all action taken in these respects under this Act: 

 Provided that- 

 5[(i) any offence punishable under this Act may be investigated into without the order of a  Magistrate and any warrant issued by the Excise Commissioner or an Excise Officer duly  empowered in this behalf under Section 46 may be executed by any officer selected for that  purpose by the authority issuing the warrant;] 

 (ii) whenever an excise officer makes any arrest, seizure or search he shall within 24 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 49 take or send the person  arrested and the article seized with all convenient dispatch to a Magistrate for trial. 

5[(iii) no search shall be deemed to be illegal by reason only of the fact that witnesses for the  search were not inhabitants of the locality in which the place of search is situated.] 6[iv) the provisions of section 162 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Central Act No. 2  of 1974) shall not apply to the investigations made under this Act]. 

 

(3.Substituted vide Rajasthan Act. No. 30 of 1976 4. Omitted vide Rajasthan Act. No. 38 of 1957 5. Inserted vide Rajasthan Act. No. 28 of 1961 6. Added vide Rajasthan Excise (Amendment) Act, 2007 vide Notifi. No 2(27) Vidhi/2/2006, dt 6.6.2007 )

 

"49. Modified application of certain provisions of the Code.-

(1) Section 167 of the Code  shall apply to a case involving an offence punishable under the proviso to section 54, or  under sections 54B, 54D or 56 of this Act subject to the modification that in sub-section (2)  thereof the reference to "sixty days" and "ninety days", wherever they occur, shall be  construed as reference to "one hundred twenty days" and "one hundred eighty days"  respectively. 

(2) Nothing in section 438 of the Code shall apply in relation to any case involving  the arrest of any person on an accusation of having committed an offence punishable under the  proviso to section 54, or under sections 54B, 54D or 56 of this Act. 

(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code, no person accused of an  offence punishable under the proviso to section 54, or under sections 54B, 54D or 56 of this  Act shall, if in custody, be released on bail or on his own bond, unless- 

(a) the Public Prosecutor has been given an opportunity to oppose the application  of such release; and 

(b) where the Public Prosecutor opposes the application, the court is satisfied that  there are reasonable grounds for believing that he is not guilty of such offence and  that he is not likely to commit any such offence while on bail. 

 

(4) The limitations on grant of bail specified in sub-section (3) are in addition to  the limitations under the Code or any other law for the time being in force on the grant of bail.

Explanation. -

In this section, the expression "the Code" means the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Central Act No. 2 of 1974). 

 

(Inserted vide Rajasthan Excise (Amendment) Act, 2007 vide Notifi. No 2(27) Vidhi/2/2006, dt 6.6.2007.)

 50. Duty of officers of certain departments to report offences and to assist Excise  Officers.-

Every officer of the Police, Salt, Customs 1[Narcotics] and Land Revenue Department  shall be bound to give immediate information to an officer of the Excise Department of all  breaches of any of the provisions of this Act which may come to his knowledge and to aid, any  officer of the Excise Department in carrying out of the provisions of this Act upon request made  by such officer. 

 

51. Duty of landholders and others to give information.

(1) Every owner or occupier of  land the agent of any such owner or occupier of land on which, and 

(2) 2[Every Sarpanch or Panch of a Panchayat established under the Rajasthan Panchayat  Act, 1953 (Rajasthan Act 21 of 1953) lambardar], village headman, village accountant or village  policeman in whose village, there shall be any manufacture or illegal import or collection of any  excisable article not licenced under this Act, or any unlawful cultivation or collection of any plant from which an intoxicating drug can be produced shall be bound in the absence of reasonable  excuse, to give notice of the same to a Magistrate or to an officer of the Excise, Police, Customs  or Land Revenue Department, immediately the same shall have come to his knowledge. 

 

(Substituted vide Rajasthan Act. No. 28 of 1961)

 52. Duty of officer-in-charge of police station to take charge of article seized. -

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 Excise Commissioner 1[or an Excise Officer duly empowered in that behalf] all articles seized under this Act which may be delivered to him; and shall allow any officer of the Excise Department who may accompany such articles to the police station or may  be deputed 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. 

(Inserted vide Rajasthan Act. No. 28 of 1952)

53. Power to close shops for the sake of public peace. -

(1) The District Magistrate by notice in  writing to the Licensee may require that any shop in which any excisable or intoxicating drug is  sold shall be closed at such times or for such period as he may think necessary for the  preservation of the public peace. 

(2) If a riot or unlawful assembly is apprehended or occurs in the vicinity of any such shop, a  Magistrate of any class or any police officer above the rank of a constable who is present, may  require such shop to be kept closed for such period as he may think necessary:  Provided that where any such riot or unlawful assembly occurs the Licensee shall in the  absence of such Magistrate or police officer, close his shop without any order.