Certain companypanies which engaged in manufacturing cigarettes, along with some of their Directors were prosecuted before the Court of a Special Judge Economic Offences at Hyderabad for offences under different clauses of Section 9 1 of the Central Excise Act and under Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code.
Learned Single Judge who heard the petition for leave felt that he is bound by the earlier decision rendered by a Division Bench of the same High Court in N.S.R. Krishna Prasad vs. Collector of Customs 1992 ELT 568 AP .
The gist of the allegations against them is that the respondent companypany, which engaged in the manufacture of cigarettes during the period between 1.9.1981 and 30.11.1985, removed large quantities of cigarettes from their factories at Biccavolu without accounting them and without paying excise duty.
The further allegation is that large quantities of cigarettes were companycealed in their godowns without accounting them and in the above process a very huge amount of central excise duty was evaded fraudulently.
The trial judge after holding inquiry framed charges against the respondents for the aforesaid offences and proceeded with the trial but in the end he acquitted all of them.
The Special Judge, after a detailed trial, found the respondent number guilty and acquitted him.
Such acts were done by the respondent pursuant to the criminal companyspiracy hatched and perpetrated by them.
This appeal, by special leave, is against the said order of refusal passed by the Single Judge.
The appellant filed an appeal before the High Court of Andhra Pradesh and moved for leave to appeal.
