PAVITHRAN Vs. POULOSE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a petition under S 482 Cr. P. C. The petitioners are the accused in C. C. No. 411 of 1977 on the file of the Judicial Magistrate of the Second Class, Alwaye. The prosecution was launched by the complainant who is the respondent here. The case of the complainant is that an offence was committed by the accused under S.347 IPC. read with S.34 IPC. The complaint was filed on 7-3-1977 on which day process was issued to the accused. Immediately upon receipt of the summons the accused approached this Court with the present petition. Accused 1 to 3 are Sales Tax Officers. Accused 5 is the Sales Tax Inspector. Accused 4 and 6 are peons in the sales tax department.

(2.) The complaint of the present petitioners (the accused) is that the prosecution was launched by the respondent in contravention of the requirement of S.51 of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1953 (the 'Act'). This section says:

(3.) According to the respondent, the facts are the following: The respondent was carrying goods in a lorry on 18-12-1976. As he approached Angamally he was stopped by the petitioners who were travelling in a jeep. The respondent was asked to produce the documents required under S.29(2) of the Act, which he did. He was, however, forced to enter the jeep and they tore off two pages of the bill book which was in his possession. The pages related to sales alleged to have been made by the respondent to two dealers in Kalady. The petitioners then took the respondent in this jeep to Kalady purportedly for the purpose of verifying the entries in their two pages with the dealers. After the bills were verified, the respondent was left high and dry at Kalady and the petitioners went away in their jeep.