INDUSTRIAL CHEMICAL WORKS AHMEDABAD Vs. DAHYABHAI KALUBHAI SOLANKI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners, by this petition, have assailed the order passed by the learned Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Ahmedabad, on 26-9-1991 in Criminal Case No. 728 of 1989, by invoking the aids of the provisions of Sec. 397 read with Sec. 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 ("Code" for short).

(2.) A short resume of the facts giving rise to the present petition, may be narrated, at the outset. Respondent No. 1 herein is the original complainant and the petitioners herein are the original accused, against whom a criminal complaint was filed in the trial Court for the violation of the provisions of Sec. 25 punishable under the provisions of Sec. 44 of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 ("the Act" for short), on 27-3-1989. The substratum of the prosecution case is that the accused persons are responsible and guilty for the discharge of 10,000 litres of untreated trade effluent into the stream of a river and for the pollution of water, etc., and thereby they violated the provisions of Sec. 25 of the Act.

(3.) During the course of the proceedings before the trial Court, the petitioners preferred an application on 8-7-1991 before the trial Court contending that the proceedings against them should be stopped as the Court was incompetent to take cognizance on the ground of non-production of the sanction of the State Board alongwith the complaint as required under the provisions of Sec. 49(1) of the Act.