A V V SATYANARAYANA Vs. STATION HOUSE OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is owner of a shop in Huzurnagar Gram Panchayat. He is having wholesale business in jaggery. It appears that he purchased 136 qtls. of of jaggery from Khandelwal Trading Co., Bazarkot, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh on 28-11-2001 under valid waybills and other sale documents. On 25-2-2002, it is alleged that the respondents inspected the petitioner's shop and demanded an amount of Rs.10,000/- as bribe threatening that they would otherwise take action under the provisions of the A.P.Excise Act, 1968. The petitioner refused to pay the amount. On 26-2-2002 when the petitioner was absent from the shop, the respondents seized 136 bags of black jaggery weighing 6800 kg. and registered a case under Section 34(e) of the Act as P.R.No.765/2001-02 on the file of the Judicial First Class Magistrate, Huzurnagar. The petitioner contends that the jaggery was not intended for manufacture of any liquor and it was intended for business in retail and, therefore, the action of the respondents in registering the crime is violative of Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India.He prays this Court to quash the proceedings.

(2.) The question raised in this writ petition is squarely covered by a judgment of a Full Bench, to which I was a member, in GANESH TRADERS, DHERMAPURI, KARIMNAGAR v. DISTRICT COLLECTOR. The majority of the Full Bench referring to various provisions of the A.P. Excise Act, 1968 laid down principles of law as under.

(3.) Insofar as the prayer for release of the vehicle involved allegedly for the offence under Sections 13 and 34 of the Excise Act is concerned, the Full Bench after referring to judgments of the Division Bench of this Court in DEPUTY COMMISSIONER (PROHIBITION AND EXCISE) v. SHOBALAL2 and STATE OF KARNATAKA v. KRISHNAN held as under.