AMRUTLAL Vs. COLLECTOR ADILABAD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition for the issue of a writ of Habeas Corpus is by a wholesale dealer in Kerosene oil at Adilabad who is detained under Section 3 (I) (a) (iii) of the Maintainance of Internal Security Act, 1971 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act') calling in question the validity of the order of detention dated 2-8-74 made by the Collector and District Magistrate, Adilabad Respondent I herein. The grounds of detention were served upon the petitioner on 8-8-74. In order to appreciate the several contentions raised by the learned counsel for the petitioner, Mr. B, P. Jeevan Reddy, it is necessary to read the said grounds of detention which are as follows: "In pursuance of sub-sec. (I) of Sec 8 of the Maintenance of Internal Security Act, 1971, (Central Act 16 of 1971) you are hereby informed that the following are the grounds on which the order of your detention was made under the Act. I. You are a wholesale dealer in kerosene oil at Adilabad and you received the supplies of kerosene oil from the Indian Oil Corporation Limited, you possess a licence bearing No. 119 to carry on wholesale business in kerosene at Adilabad. According to condition No. 10 of the Kerosene Licence, the Licensee shall comply with any directions that may be given by the State Government or the licensing authority in regard to purchase, sale and storage for sale of kerosene. In the proceedings No. C4 by 4622/68 dt. 31-8-68 the district revenue officer, Adilabad, who is the licencing Authority directed you to sell the kerosene brought by you from the company to the retailers of Gudhihatnoor revenue circle of Boath Taluk as per the allotment made by the Tahsildar concerned. In District Revenue Officer's Circular No. C4/130/74 dated 7-3-74 the Gudhihalnoor circle of Boath Taluk was deleted from your area. There are constant complaints from the Tahasildar Utroor that you never supplied kerosene oil regularly to the retailers of bis taluk and consequently there was scarcity of kerosene oil in his taluq. You took kerosene oil for Utnoor taluq on 19-8-1973 and the Tahsildar, Utnoor gave you allotment order for sale to the retailers of his taluq. But you did not sell the kerosene oil to the retailers as per the allotment orders given to you by the Tahsildar, Utnoor. Sri. Arvind, S/o Janardhan, R/o Hasanapur is one of the retailers to whom the Tahsildar, Utnoor allotted Kerosene oil on 19-8-73. You demanded excess rate from him for the kerosene to be issued and when he refused to pay in excels of the fixed price, you refused to supply kerosene to him.

(2.) That the Tahsildar, Utnoor in his proceedings dated 5-11-1973 alloted 2,000 litters of kerosene oil among 18 retailers of his taluq for issue by you Sarvasti Nawab Ahmed Khan of Utnoor, Osmankhan of Tosham Bipin Traders of Dhanora, Saleem Shamsuddien of Shampur, Amar and sons of Jainoor and Girijan Primary Co-operative Marketing Society Ltd. Utnoor, were among the 13 nominees of the Tahsildar Utnoor. When these retailers approached you for purchase of kerosene oil as per the allotment orders of the Tahsildar, you informed them that the stock was exhausted and did not supply the kerosene oil. Thus you did not sell the kerosene oil as allotted by the Tahsildar Utnoor but sold it in the black market.

(3.) The Tahsildar, Utnoor, in his proceedings dt. 4-3-74 alloted 600 litres of kerosene oil to Sri. Nawabkhan of Utnoer, a retail dealer. But you supplied him only 480 litres stating that the stuck was exhausted.