LAXMIKANT SARDA Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE applicant apprehending arrest in connection with the offences under Section 3 read with Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, sought anticipatory bail which was rejected, by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Nagpur, vide order dated 30/07/2001.

(2.) IN order to appreciate the contentions advanced by the learned counsel for the applicant and the learned Assistant Public Prosecutor, it is necessary to enumerate the facts of the matter.

(3.) ACCORDING to the prosecution the crime branch received information that blue kerosene had been illegally unloaded at Ramsons Castings Pvt. Ltd. , Nagpur, (for short to be referred as "ramsons Casting" ). Accordingly the crime branch police staff went near the factory yard of Ramsons Casting. One tanker bearing No. MH 31 M 2541 had entered into the said company at about 4 pm. on 23-7-2001. After about 15 minutes the raiding party along with the Panchas went inside the premises of said Ramsons Casting and found that kerosene from the said tanker was being unloaded into the steel tank of the said Company and at that time the accused persons namely the driver, cleaner of the truck and the others were present doing the illegal act. The raiding party seized the tanker along with 11,000 ltrs. of kerosene, plastic pipe which was connected with the tanker and the steel tank as also chemical (LDO) measuring 15 ltrs. The police took sample of the kerosene from the tanker and the steel tank and the said chemical i. e. LDO and has forwarded the said sample to the chemical analyser. The spot Panchanma was prepared. The photographs of the spot were taken and video recording was done. The police seized the papers i. e. invoice challan Octroi receipt and other things from the cabin of the said tanker. The crime branch police thereafter reported in the MIDC police station as the said area comes under the jurisdiction of the said police station. According to the prosecution, the applicant is wholesale dealer for distribution of rationed kerosene for specified area that is to say Gadchiroli and the applicant and other accused persons have illegally sold the said rationed kerosene to accused No. 3 Ramsons Casting. The prosecution case further is that the license issued in favour of the applicant under the Maharashtra Kerosene Dealers Licensing Order, 1966 (hereinafter referred to as "the Licensing Order") is only for the specified area, Gadchiroli and the kerosene could be sold only within the limits of Gadchiroli and in the case under consideration the applicant and the accused have sold the kerosene outside the specified area to unauthorised person, namely Ramsons Casting. The prosecution case further is that accused Nos. 1 and 2 have loaded kerosene of 12,000 ltrs. from the Hindustan Petrolium Corporation, Khapri Depot on 23-7- 2001 at 2 pm. and took the said tanker as per the direction of the applicant to Ramsons Casting for unloading the same there. It is further case of prosecution that the driver and cleaner of the said tanker had fabricated invoice challan which was for Gadchiroli substituting the same as Nagpur district so as to take the tanker through the check post to Nagpur. In the invoice, the place is mentioned as Gadchiroli. Statement of number of witnesses have been recorded in order to point out that the tanker was brought to Ramsons Casting as per the direction of applicant No. 1 on phone. The statements of some persons working in Ramsons Casting have already been recorded to show the process fo unloading. When police party reached the said place where the kerosene was being unloaded it was found that the tanker was having 11,000 ltrs. as against 12,000 ltrs. and that the balance had been already emptied into the steel tank and the process was still going on. The driver, conductor and the Executive Director Rajendra singh of Ramsons Casting were arrested and they have been released on bail.