RELIANCE INDUSTRIES LTD Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeks quashing of F. I. R. No. 102 of 2003 and F. I. R. No. 2-23/03 dated 5th August, 2003, pending on the file of Nhava Shiva Police station and Uran Police Station, District Raigad. It is alleged that the petitioner has contravened sections 3, 7, 8, 9 and 10 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 ("the said Act") read with the Maharashtra Solvent, Raffinate Slop (Acquisition. Sale, Storage and Prevention of Use in Automobiles) Order, 2000 as amended.

(2.) BEFORE we touch the merits of the case it is necessary to have a look at the relevant provisions of law. Section 3 of the said Act enables the Central government to issue orders providing for regulating or prohibiting the production, supply and distribution of any essential commodity and trade and commerce therein. Section 7 of the said Act provides for penalties for contravention of any order made under section 3. Section 8 of the said Act states that any person who attempts to contravene or abates contravention of any order made under section 3 shall be deemed to have contravened that order. Section 9 of the said Act provides for punishment for making a false statement and section 10 thereof speaks about offences by company. In pursuance of section 3 of the said Act, the Central Government issued the Solvent Raffinate and Slop (Acquisition, Sale, Storage and Prevention of Use in Automobiles) Order, 2000 ("the Central Order" for short ). Clause 3 of the Central Order provides that no peison shall either acquire, store or sell solvent included in the schedule thereto without a licence issued by the State Government or District Magistrate or any other officer authorised by the Central or State Government. Pursuant to sub-clause (1) of clause 3 of the Central Order, the Government of Maharashtra by a notification published in the Official Gazette issued the Maharashtra Solvent, raffinate and Slop (Acquisition, Sale, Storage and Prevention of Use in automobiles; Licensing (Amendment) Order, 2002 (the licensing order for short ). It is necessary to reproduce some of the clauses of the licensing order. Clause 3 so far as it is relevant reads as under :

(3.) HAVING referred to the relevant provisions of licensing order it would now be necessary to narrate the facts; Reliance Petroleum Limited ("rpl" for snort) at the relevant time was engaged in the manufacture, sale and distribution of Petroleum and Petroleum Products including Light Diesel Oil ("ldo" for short) at its refinery in Jamnagar in the State of Gujarat. For the delivery and dispatch to the end users/buyers of the LDO in and around the State of maharashtra, in or around July, 2001 RPL started bringing LDO from its refinery and stored the same in the containers/tanks situate in or around the Jawaharlal nehru Port Trust at Nhava Sheva. The storage tank belonged to Indian Oil tanking Ltd. ("iotl") a Government of India undertaking. The storage of LDO by IOTL was pursuant to an agreement entered into between RPL and IOTL.