P D SHARMA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner has assailed the proceedings pending against him before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (in short the A.C.M.M.) titled as State v. Surender & Ors., emanating from Case FIR No. 700/84, P.S. Daryaganj, which was registered on 14th September, 1984.

(2.) In order to appreciate the challenge let us have a quick glance to the facts of this case. It is the case of the prosecution that a secret information was received that the furnace oil tankers which come to Indra Prastha Power Station, Ring Road from Shakur Basti Depot of Burma Shell (Bharat Petroleum) are not entirely emptied by the accused persons. They in collusion with the staff of the power house take away large quantity of furnace oil which they in turn sell in the black market. On receipt of this information, raid was conducted. During raid it transpired that two tankers came to Indra Prastha Power Station. On checking up it was found that after these tankers emptied the furnace oil in Tanker No. DEC-3658, Chamber No. 1 contained 75 litres. Chamber No. 2 contained 30 litres and Chamber No. 3 contained 10 litres of furnace oil which had not been emptied. In Tanker No. HRG-2025, Chamber No; 1 contained 625 litres. Chamber No. 2 contained 50 litres of furnace oil which had not been emptied. Samples were taken of the furnace oil recovered. On further investigation it was found that Trilok Singh Negi and Avinash Chander were actually deputed to check the tankers after delivery of the oil and to ensure that the tanker had been fully emptied. But they in connivance with Girdhari Lal, Padam Dev Sharma, and Shiv Raj Singh, who were on security duty at the gate of Indra Prastha Power Station, had not only committed cheating, theft and defrauded the office by allowing tankers to carry unemptied furnace oil.

(3.) It was on the basis of this raid that case against Padam Dev Sharma and others was registered vide FIR No. 700/84 dated 14th September, 1984 at Police Station Daryaganj under Section 407/34, Indian Penal Code and under Sections 7/10/55 Essential Commodities Act. Charge sheet was tiled against accused persons under Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act and under Sections 407/409/411 read with Section 120-B, Indian Penal Code on 2nd July, 1986. On 9th September, 1994 Additional Sessions Judge on a petition filed by the accused held that no offence under Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act was made out against the accused persons. However, by the impugned order dated 9th September, 1994, he held that prima facie case under Section 120-B read with Section 407, Indian Penal Code was made out against all the accused persons and further prima facie offence under Section 407, Indian Penal Code was made out against accused Surender, Rajbeer Singh, Subhash Chander, Ramesh Dev, and Ved Pal. After the decision dated 9th September, 1994 the learned Additional Sessions Judge sent the case back to the Court of learned ACMM, Delhi. The ACMM instead of framing the charge as per the order of Additional Sessions Judge, Delhi, dated 9th September, 1994, had been adjourning the case for framing of the charge. Many a time adjournment was sought by the prosecution. However, at last on 29th January, 2000 the charge under Sections 120-B, 407, Indian Penal Code was framed and the case had been listed for prosecution's evidence on 11th July, 2000.