STATE OF GUJARAT Vs. SABBIRBHAI SAJUDDIN VORA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 1st April, 1991, passed by the learned Special Judge, Panchmahal at Godhra, in Special (ESTP) Case No.4 of 1989 whereby he has acquitted the accused of the offences punishable under clauses 7, 5, 3(3), 4 and 35 of the Fertiliser (Control) Order, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as "the Order").

(2.) THE prosecution case is that the complainant, Shri M. M. Patel, who was discharging duties as Agriculture Inspector at Dahod, and had jurisdiction over Devgadh Baria, Santrampur, Jhalod, Dahod and Limkheda talukas and had been authorized to carry out duties of an Agriculture Inspector under a notification issued by the Government of India under the Fertiliser said Order. Earlier, Shri M.D. Chauhan, Agricultural Inspector was in charge. On 23rd July, 1988, Shri Chauhan had gone to mauje Mandav, Taluka: Bariya, in connection with work relating to quality control, at that time he had visited the establishment of the accused No.1, Sabbirbhai Sajuddin Vora, at mauje Mandav. At that time the accused No. 2-Firozbhai Sajuddin Vora was present at the shop and it appeared that he was selling fertilisers and charging higher prices from the consumers and was not issuing bills and was not maintaining any kind of record. In this regard, upon asking him to produce the licence for selling and storing such fertilisers, he did not have any such licence. Moreover, he was not even in a position to show any stock statement, bill book, etc. Thus, the accused were illegally selling fertilisers at a rate higher than the fixed rate and were not maintaining stock board or issuing bills nor were they maintaining any record in accordance with law and as such had committed the offences punishable under clauses 7, 3, 4, 5 and 35 of the Fertiliser (Control) Order, 1985. Upon inspecting the shop of the accused, four sacks, each filled with 50 kilograms of 'Urea', together weighing 200 kilograms and another bag containing 22 kilograms of fertiliser were found from the shop. In this manner, in all, 222 kilograms of Urea was found in respect of which a panchnama came to be drawn and the stock of Urea came to be seized. Thus, by committing breach of the above referred clauses, the accused had committed breach of section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act which was an offence punishable under section 7 of the said Act.

(3.) BEFORE the trial court, the prosecution examined, in all, six witnesses and produced certain documentary evidence on the record. The learned Special Judge, after appreciating the evidence on record, found that the prosecution has failed to establish the charges levelled against the accused beyond reasonable doubt and acquitted them.