BABU RAMA DHAGE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) RULE made returnable forthwith by consent of the parties in all the Applications.

(2.) 7 petitioners in these 8 Applications are concerned with the offence registered at Cr. No. I-6/94 at MIDC, Waluj Police Station, Aurangabad, initially, for offences punishable under Sections 7 and 8 of the Essential commodities Act, Section 23 of the Petroleum Act and Section 420 read with Section 114 of the Indian Penal Code. In course of time, offences punishable under Sections 468, 471 and 477-A of "the Indian Penal Code, also are added for the purposes of investigation. The Petitioners in Criminal application No. 227/94 to 230/94 were arrested on 22-1-1994. The petitioner in Criminal Application No. 231/94 was arrested on 28/1/1994. , whereas the Petitioner in Criminal Application No. 232/94 and Criminal application No. 272/94 was arrested on 3-2-1994. The petitioner in criminal Application No. 261/1994 was arrested on 1-2-1994. Besides these petitioners, some other persons also were arrested in connection with the said offences ; but they are not parties to the proceedings that are now decided.

(3.) THE first information report, in this case, was lodged by P. S. I. V. R. Saraf of the Special Squad of the Commissionerate of Police at Aurangabad. As per the averments in the first information report, on 21-1-1994 a secret information was received by him that kerosene was being loaded or re-loaded in a tanker bearing No. MXD 7657 at Bharuka Oil depot, Bansilal Nagar, Aurangabad, allegedly belonging to petitioner-Deepak Bharuka in Criminal Application No. 232/1994 and the sister application no. 272/94, for being mixed up with high speed diesel. A watch was, therefore, kept by the Squad on the movements of the aforesaid tanker-truck. At about 11. 30 a. m. , the aforesaid tanker is said to have left the distribution centre of kerosene at Aurangabad. The members of the squad, therefore, chased that vehicle in a private car. The tanker is, allegedly, to have proeeded first to Bansilal Nagar at Aurangabad and it was parked there, first on the road and, then, at night, in some inner compound. It is alleged that the squad had kept a watch on that tanker throughout the night and that, on the following day when it was moved from that place the same was, again, chased. It is, further, alleged that the tanker proceeded to a petrol and diesel pump owned by Rajput and Sons at Pandharpur, Tq. and Dist. Aurangabad which was, allegedly, owned by one, Kachrusingh Rajput, who is yet to be arrested. We are told at the bar that his application for anticipatory bail has been rejected recently by the learned Special Judge, Aurangabad. At the aforesaid Petrol and Diesel pump, the tanker in question, was being unloaded. According to the prosecution the aforesaid owner of the petrol pump was also a man engaged by Deepak Bharuka, under some agreement ; but that agreement was not on record. The tanker in question was being driven by Babu Dhage (Petitioner in Criminal Application No. 227/1994), and Shaikh Majid (Petitioner criminal Application No. 228/1994) was a cleaner thereon. Subhash mutha, the petitioner in Criminal Application No. 229/94 was, allegedly, accompanying the tanker on behalf of Deepak Bharuka, be being allegedly an agent or employee of Deepak Bbaruka. The members of the Special squad reached the tanker at the petrol pump and collected, initially, two samples each of the liquid from the tanker and the liqid from the tank at the petrol pump, A message was allegedly, sent to the officials of the Oil corporation/company, namely I O. C. and I B P. , to come to the spot But, none is alleged to have reported the members of the Special Squad there, till the conclusion of the Panchnama which was drawn on the site. Therefore, samples were, again, collected in the different bottles of the liquid from the tanker and liquid from the tank for the purposes of handing then over to the officials of the above-mentioned Corporation/company.