RAVINDRA HIRALA UNECHA Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ONE Hiralal Baktaram Unecha was tried in the court of Special Judge, Pune in E.C.Special case no.9 of 1984 for committing breach and contraven-tion of the provisions including term nos.2, 3,8 and 10 of the Retail Dealers Licence of Kerosene issued in his favour in the prescribed form B as per clause 4 of the Maharashtra Scheduled Commodities Retail Dealers' Licensing Order, 1979 issued by the Food and Civil Supplies Department, Government of Maharashtra under section 3(2) (d) of the Essential Commodi-ties Act, 1955 and punishable under section 7(1) (a) (ii) of the said Act as amended by the Essential Commodities (Special Provisions) Act, 1981. By his judgment and order dated 6.9.1986 the learned Sessions Judge, Pune found the said Hiralal Baktaram Unecha guilty and he convicted him for the offence of committing the breach of clauses 3, 10 and 12 of the Maharashtra Scheduled Commodities Retail Dealers' Licensing Order, 1979 as well as term nos.3,8 and 10 of the Licence Exh.20 covered by section 3(2) (d) and pun-ishable under section 7(1) (a) (ii) of the Essential Commodities Act and he sentenced the accused to undergo R.I. for one year and to pay a fine of Rs.5000/- or in default to suffer R.I. for 6 months.

(2.) THIS appeal was admitted on 4.10.1986. The said Hiralal Baktaram Unecha was released on bail. It appears that the said Hiralal died on 10.12.1991. On 25.8.1995 an application came to be made by the heirs of said Hiralal Baktaram Unecha to bring their names on record, which was granted on 28th October 1995. The present appeal is therefore being prose-cuted by the heirs of the original accused Hiralal Baktaram Unecha.

(3.) THE Pune city has been divided into 8 zones (A to H) for the purpose of distribution and supply of scheduled commodities at fair price to the ration card holders and the food grains distribution officer (F.D.O.) is in charge of all that work. The accused was running the fair price shop under valid licence no.H/39 at plot no.107 Parvatigaon Pune and the said shop is known as Navhind Provision Stores. The said shop comes in H zone of the supply department. The accused had also obtained licence no.KER/R/H/178 from supply department for working as a retail dealer in the kerosene at city survey no.104 Parvatigaon. The said licence was issued in the pre-scribed form B as per clause 4 of the Maharashtra Scheduled Commodities Retail Dealers' Licensing Order, 1979. The said licence contains certain terms and conditions for working as a retail dealer in the kerosene.