In Brief
Sathyan was arrested in 2003 for possessing five litres of arrack (liquor) in his autorickshaw and convicted under the Abkari Act. He challenged the conviction, arguing the case rested solely on police witness testimony, that the investigation was biased because the detecting officer also investigated, and that a three-year investigation delay was unjustified. The Supreme Court upheld the conviction, holding that reliable police testimony is sufficient grounds for conviction even without independent witnesses, bias must be proven not presumed, and the delay—though concerning—does not trigger automatic prejudice since the accused was on bail. However, the Court reduced his sentence from one year to three months imprisonment, considering the 20-year lapse since the offence."
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