ARJIND KUMAR SINGH Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has invoked inherent power of this Court conferred under Sec. 482 CrPC for quashing FIR No.414/2014 registered against him alongwith some other co-accused persons under Sec. 420, 467, 468, 471, 201, 120B of IPC and Sec. 34(2) of the M.P. Excise Act at Police Station Chorhata District Rewa.

(2.) According to the prosecution case, on 6/11/2014, Inspector Anil Kumar Verma, SHO, P.S.Chorhata received information that two trucks bearing registration No.UP 62 T 4829 and UP 65 BT 2367 are carrying illegal liquor. Liquor had been loaded from Narmada Distilleries, Itma Kothar, Amarpatan, District Satna and they are going to deliver it somewhere in Allahabad UP. Information was entered in daily diary at serial No.322/19:40. The police departed from the police station. They barricaded the road near the turn of Chorhata bypass and waited for the trucks. After sometime both the trucks came and when the police tried to get them stopped, their drivers speded up and tried to run away. They were chased and got stopped at toll barrier. On inquiry, driver of the truck No. UP 62 T 4829 revealed his name as Shivram Yadav while driver of truck No.UP 65 BT 2367 revealed his name as Nanhe Yadav. Alongwith them cleaner Bhanu Singh was also present in the truck. On search 800 boxes of IMFL (Royal Select Delux Whiskey) were found in the truck No.UP 62 T 4829 while 833 boxes of same IMFL were found in truck No.UP 65 BT 2367. In both the trucks documents for transporting the whiskey showing their transportation to Arunachal Pradesh and Chhandigarh from Narmada Distilleries, Itma Kothar, Amarpatan, Satna were found. The permit purportedly issued by Assistant District Excise Officer (ADEO), Office In-charge Narmada Distilleries, Satna alongwithbilty of MP UP South Assam Road Carriers Indore were also found. Suspecting their genuineness, the police inquired about them from Shri Jagdish Gupta (ADEO) posted in Narmada Distilleries and Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Satna. In inquiry and examination it emerged that any of the managerial staff of Narmada Distilleries viz.A.K.Singh, Nanak Singh, Sanjeev Dodi, Gurubaksh Singh and Sanjeev Agrawal had prepared those fake counter foils of original permit bearing serial No.A-15438 and A 15439 and sent them to one Chanchal Tiwari, Indore and then Chanchal Tiwari in connivance with ADEO Shri Jagdish Gupta prepared those fake counter foils/permit and sent them to the transporter to prepare a bilty to transport the seized liquor. Daily diary, Export-Import permit book, Acknowledgment/receipts were seized from the plant of Narmada Distilleries and on comparison some discrepancies were found in the documents showing that fake export permit were got printed by the accused persons and issued with fake signatures and seal of the Excise Officer to earn wrongful gain and to cause loss to the State Exchequer. The police also suspected that the accused persons were repeatedly transporting liquor by using the same permit, therefore, the offence was registered and charge-sheet was filed in 2015 against 18 accused persons, which is pending trial.

(3.) The petitioner has preferred this petition on the grounds that he has not been named in the FIR. He was not present on the spot. In any manner, he is not associated to both the companies viz. Narmada Distilleries or Silver Oaks Distilleries. Memo of Association of both these companies clearly shows that the petitioner is neither the share holder or Director nor holding any other post in these companies. No documents, as said to be filed with the charge-sheet, bears his signatures. His implication is based only on the disclosure made by the co-accused persons before the police which is totally inadmissible piece of evidence as there was no recovery in pursuance thereto. Therefore, his prosecution, which he is facing since last 7 years and even the trial Court could not frame the charges, is utterly an abuse of process of law, hence, the same be quashed.