SEAPORT LOGISTICS PRIVATE LIMITED Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) On source information, the Central Bureau of Investigation registered a case in Crime No.RC MA1 2015 A0016, on 24.04.2015, against certain officials of the Southern Railways and private persons and after completing the investigation, have filed the charge sheet in C.C.No.2 of 2016, on the file of the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Madurai District, for the offences under Sections 120-B, r/w 420 of the Indian Penal Code, Section 13(2) r/w 13(1)(d) of the Prevention Corruption Act, 1988 and Sections 65 and 66 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, against accused No.5, challenging which, M/s.Seaport Logistics Private Limited, Represented by Shri M.S.Tajudeen/Accused No.5 has filed the present Criminal Original Petition.

(2.) Mr.M.Ajmal Khan, learned Senior Counsel, representing Mr.J.M.Abdul Rahman, learned counsel on record for the petitioner/Accused No.5 submitted that the entire charge sheet is an abuse of process of law, inasmuch as the petitioner is a Logistics Company and they had nothing to do with the Electronic in Motion Weigh Bridge Room [EIMWB] that was installed and managed by M/s.Senlogic Automation Private Limited/Accused No.4 in the premises of the Railways. It is further contended that there are no documents for correspondence between the petitioner/Accused No.5 and the other persons concerned in the offences in respect of the alleged activity and there was no culpable mental state for the petitioner/Accused No.5. It is also submitted that the punitive charges are governed by the Railways [Punitive Charges for Overloading of Wagon] Rules, 2012, framed under Section 73 of the Railways Act. 1989 and this empowers the Railway Administration to impose punitive charges for overloading in Railway wagon, but, whereas, the Railway Administration had not taken any action against the consignee in this regard. To understand the submission of the petitioner, it may be apposite to extract Paragraph No.3 of the charge sheet, which is self-explanatory, which is as under:-

(3.) The allegation in the charge sheet is that the gross permissible carrying capacity of a railway wagon is 89.6 tons and that the petitioner, who has acted as the clearing agent for Ramco Cements, Tamil Nadu News Prints and Papers Limited, Malabar Cements Private Limited and M/s.Malco Energy Limited, in conspiracy with R.Ravichandran of M/s.Senlogic Automation Private, Chennai, had manipulated the source code of the Electronic in Motion Weigh Bridge [EIMWB], by which excess weight was transported via railway wagons, but, the weighing machine showed lower weight. The total loss to the Southern Railways by this fraudulent process has been estimated at Rs.93,03,642/-.