ASHOK JIWANMAL GIDWANI Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PETITIONER No. 1 Ashok Jivanmal Gidwani owns a Qualis Toyota Vehicle bearing registration No. MH 34-F/2769. Madhukar Meshram, who is a regular and trusted driver, was in charge of the vehicle. According to the petitioner, the vehicle used to be given on hire occasionally. It was so hired by Prashant Sarkar and Parimal Sarkar for the period from 10-1-2002 to 14-1-2002 for going to Kanpur (UP ). The vehicle was seized at Bhiwapur by police and was found to be loaded with about93 Kgs. of pieces of sandalwood. Apart from Prashant Sarkar and Parimal Sarkar, one Jai Narayan Ramnaraya Thakur, Maksud Khan Mumtaj Pathan and Moreshwar Patru Meshram were found to be occupying the vehicle. The police arrested the occupants, who were produced before the learned Magistrate and bailed out. The petitioners are not the accused before the Court.

(2.) ON 5-2-2002, the petitioners prayed for release of the vehicle by making an application to the learned Judicial Magistrate First Class, Aheri. He rejected the application on7-2-2002, whereupon the petitioners preferred a revision petition before the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Gadchiroli. He dismissed the revision petition on22-2-2002, whereafter the petitioners preferred Criminal Application No. 107 of 2002 before this Court, but withdrew the same.

(3.) THE respondents have filed written submissions as also a return enumerating as to how the order passed by the Deputy Conservator of Forest was perfectly valid and why the same, having been left untouched by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, does not call for any interference from this Court.