HARI PANDURANG BHAVE Vs. SONBA KONDIBA BANKAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant who was Checking Naka Officer of the Pune Municipal Corporation has filed these appeals against the Judgment delivered by JMFC (PMC) Pune on 30th may 1985 in Summary Trial Cases No. 4545/79 to 4602/79 acquitting the respondents accused in all the matters in a prosecution lodged against them under section 398 of the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949. This is a group of 56 appeals which have been preferred against the Judgment of the trial Court by the original complainant. All the cases in the trial Court were disposed of by the common judgment of the trial Court delivered on 30th May, 1985. Since the evidence is common, arising on common set of facts and involving same provisions of law, all these of appeals are being disposed of by this common judgment.

(2.) THE brief facts leading to the prosecution of the respondents-accused are as follows: On 28-11-1978, on the basis of information received by PSI L. K. Kaushik who was attached to Task Force, Pune that a Truck bearing No. MTD 2619 was carrying contraband articles, the PSI checked the said truck near the residence of respondent No. 2. The respondent No. 2 was the driver of the truck. The rest of the respondents, except the State of Maharashtra who is the formal party, were made accused being the owners of the goods which were found in the said truck. PSI Kaushik took a search of the truck in presence of two panchas and found that the truck was carrying bundles of clothes, ready-made garments, electronic articles, steel utensils, glassware and medicines etc. Panchanama of the contents of the truck was prepared which is at Exhibit 34. Finding that there were no contraband articles in the truck, the PSI intimated Pune Municipal Corporation on the very day for want of octroi receipts and handed over the truck along with the said goods to the Checking Inspector. The Checking Inspector Pandurang Patil P. W. 2 took charge of the goods and the truck after verifying the goods and put his own endorsement in writing under his signature on the said panchanama Exhibit 34. The endorsement made by P. W. 2 Patil Checking Inspector below the said panchanama reads as follows:

(3.) THE goods along with the truck were brought to the Corporation building in Pune. As the octroi duty was not paid on the goods, P. W. 2 prepared statement under a Yadi (Exhibit 31) about the goods and also assessment of the octroi charges (Exhibit 35 ). Neither any of the respondents had paid the octroi duty on the goods nor the same was offered to be paid by the respondents. Hence, the sanction order was obtained on 27-5-79 from Octroi Superintendent Mr. Khale to prosecute the respondents which is at Exhibit 36 and the prosecution was lodged in the Court of JMFC, Pune against the respondents-accused.