IN RE: VENUGOPAL NAIDU Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an application to revise the order of conviction and sentence passed against the petitioner who was accused 2 in C. C No. 278 of 1945 on the file of the Sub -Divisional First Class Magistrate, Saidapet, under Section 3 (1) of the Madras Food Grains Control Order read with Rule 81(4) of the Defence of India Rules. The trial Court found him guilty and sentenced him to pay a fine of Rs. 300 in default to six weeks' rigorous imprisonment. The conviction and) sentence were confirmed in appeal by the Sessions Judge, Chingleput. The petitioner was found actually transporting 8 carts containing 86 bags of paddy, each bag holding 64 Madras measures, along the public highway without a permit as required under the rules. P.W. 6, the Special Deputy Tahsildar for procurement of grains at Trivellore intercepted him on the spot, held an enquiry and recorded; from the petitioner a statement marked as Ex. E. He also recorded similar statements (Ex. D) from the cart drivers, P. Ws. 4 and 5. He then forwarded them to the Assistant Commercial Tax Officer, P.W. 1, who held another enquiry and recorded again a statement Ex. A from the petitioner and another statement Ex. B from a person who was the first accused in the case and who was said to be carrying on this business in partnership with the petitioner. The conviction of the appellant rests principally upon the statements recorded by P.W. 6 on 23rd March, 1945, and P.W. 1 on 24th March, 1945. Objection was taken to the admissibility of these statements on the ground that the Assistant Commercial Tax Officer P.W. 1 was in the position of an investigating officer and that any statement recorded by him would have to be excluded under Section 162 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, but this argument in any way does not apply to the statement recorded, by P.W. 6. Even the contention that the statement recorded by the Assistant Commercial Tax Officer is not admissible in evidence is wholly untenable. In the Madras Foodgrains Control Order, 1945, there is no provision which clothes any officer or officers of the Commercial Tax Department with the powers of an officer in charge of a police station to investigate an offence. Reference was made in this connection to the decision of a Bench of this Court in Someshwar H. Shelat, In re : AIR1946Mad430 . That was a case, no doubt, of a statement recorded by a special officer of the Commercial Tax Department and it was held that that statement was not admissible, but the statement recorded by that officer in that case was in the exercise of the power conferred upon him by Sub -section (3) of Section 12 of the Hoarding and Profiteering Prevention Ordinance which definitely states:

(2.) THE second question that was raised was that these statements were not admissible because the Deputy Tahsildar extorted the statement from the petitioner under duress. This allegation was rightly found against by both the Courts below.

(3.) I find no substance in any of the contentions raised. The petition is dismissed.