# HP High Court says no hologram on liquor bottle is not a crime 2026-08-10T23:56:12+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The Himachal Pradesh High Court quashed an FIR against a liquor bottling unit for failing to affix holograms, ruling that the omission is a civil penalty under Section 43 of the Excise Act, not a criminal offence under Sections 39(1) and 39(2). Justice Sandeep Sharma imposed a ₹1 lakh penalty on the proprietor of M/s Mars Bottlers. The FIR had alleged transport of bottles without licence, but the court found no evidence of unlawful production or sale. The Excise Department had earlier told the police the matter was a compoundable contravention, yet the police filed a charge sheet under the wrong provisions. ## Coverage - livelaw.in Tags: criminal prosecution quashed, Excise Act, hologram violation, HP High Court, penalty, police conduct Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/hp-high-court-says-no-hologram-on-liquor-bottle-is-not-a-crime/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/hp-high-court-says-no-hologram-on-liquor-bottle-is-not-a-crime/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.