B SATYANARAYANA Vs. INSPECTOR OF VIGILANCE CELL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is the brother of one M. G. Venugopalaiah Setty, son of Anthaiah, 48 yrs., resident of Noonepalli, Nandyal, Kurnool district. He has filed this writ petition to declare the detention of Mr. G. Venugopalaiah Setty in Central Prison, Musheerabad, Secunderabad, by order of detention dated 28-7-1995, communicated on 31-7-1995 passed by the 2nd respondent - District Collector and Magistrate, Kurnool district, by virtue of the powers conferred under Section 3(2)(a) read with Section 3(1)(a) of the Prevention of Black Marketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act, 1980 (Act 7 of 1980), as illegal and void and set him at liberty forthwith.

(2.) The facts leading to the filing of this writ petition are as follows :- The detenue Mr. G. Venugopalaiah Setty is a merchant in rice. He gets the rice hulled either in his own rice mill or in the mills taken on lease. He is diligent in complying with the several orders issued by the Government of Andhra Pradesh Pursuant to the powers conferred under Essential Commodities Act.

(3.) It is stated by the petitioner that for the previous levy period, the detenue delivered 4860 quintals of levy rice as against the fixed quota of 2816 quintals of rice. He obtained release permit No. 460, dated 15-6-1995 with Machine No. 281241 for transporting 100 quintals of levy free rice to Bangalore. He engaged lorry ATO 6677 on 19-6-95. The said lorry was stopped on 20-6-1995 at Cheekala Bayalu village near Madanapalle by the Deputy Tahsildar, suspecting the genuineness of the release permit on the ground that the Check Post authorities notices that another lorry ATQ 3875 has passed through the check post on 19-6-1995 with the same permit No. 460, dated 15-6-1995, but with a different machine No 292718, transporting rice to Hosur, Tamilnadu. Hence, the said permit was referred to the 2nd respondent, which was found as genuine. In spite of the same, the respondents used to detain the lorry carrying rice belonging to the detenue illegally for the reasons best known to the check-post authorities. As the family of the detenue did not yield to the pressure of the respondents, the first respondent registered a case against the detenue and the driver of the lorry ATQ 3875, but no case was registered in respect of 100 quintals of rice transported by lorry ATQ 6677 which was detained on 20-6-1995. The detenue filed W.P. No. 15903/95 and in W.P. M.P. No. 19403 of 1995, this Court directed release of the lorry ATQ 6677 on 21-7-1995. Dissatisfied with the detenue approaching this Court for necessary relief and obtaining interim order in the above writ petition, the detention order impugned in this writ petition has been passed against the detenue by the District Collector & Magistrate, Kurnool, under S. 3(2)(a) read with S. 3(1)(a) of Prevention of Black-Marketing and Maintenance of supplies of Essential Commodities Act, 1980 (Act 7 of 1980), holding that the detenue has been indulging in illegal business of transporting rice for sale to other States with the forged release Certificates for pecuniary benefits contravening Clause 3 of A. P. Paddy (Registration on Movement) Order, 1987, Clause 3 of A.P.S.C.D. (L&D) Order 1982, and Clause 7(1) and (2) of A.P. Procurement of Rice (Levy) Order, 1984 read with Ss. 7 and 8 of Essential Commodities Act, 1955; and invoking the provisions of Prevention of Black-marketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act, 1980, the 2nd respondent ordered to detain the detenue to prevent him from further acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of supply and easy availability of rice essential to the community from the date of serving the copy of the order with a further direction that he should be sent to the Central Prison, Secunderabad.