NATHU RAM JAIN Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is the revision preferred by Nathuram Jam son of Barelal, who, on his conviction under section 3 read with section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, has been sentenced to one years R.I. and to pay the fine of Rs, 4,000/-.

(2.) The applicant-accused was the duly appointed retail or under the M. P. Food. Stuffs (Distribution) Control Order, 1960 for supply and sale of sugar at control rates to the ration-card holders within the area of Dargwan Gram Panchayat. Admittedly, his monthly quota fixed was 15 quintals of sugar. It is equally not in dispute that 10 bags of sugar, containing five quintals in total, which had been seized in the early hours on the night of 5-7-1978, vide seizure memo Ex. P-2, at Surajpura tn-junction near the bus-stop, did belong to the applicant-accused, as being part of the total monthly quota, supplied to him for purposes of distribution from his Control-shop. The position is equally admitted that the applicant-accused, in the past, had contested the election of Panchayat Sarpanch against P.W. 2 Bhopendra Singh; and they had their respective fractions in the village due to election rivalry.

(3.) The prosecution case, in brief, was that in the early hours of the night of 5-7-1978, the applicant-accused had arranged to send ten bags of sugar i.e. five quintals to Surajpura tn-junction for loading the same in a private Chhatarpur Sagar bus, which, as usual, had stopped at the bus- stop for going towards Sagar side. Some persons of the village had seen these bags being loaded from the applicant-accuseds house in a bullock-cart fOr transport to the bus-stand. Suspecting that these bags of sugar were being smuggled out for export to places outside Durgawan area, these persons apprised Bhupendra Singh, who, in turn, reported the matter to the Company Commander B-Company of 16th Batallion posted in the village. The Company Commander, on getting this information, rushed to Surajpura tn-junction and seized the ten bags of sugar at the time when three bags had already been loaded in the bus and the remaining seven were still kept in the bullock-cart for being loaded in the bus. The fact of seizure was reported promptly at the police- station Bada Malhara. After due investigation, the applicant-accused was put up for trial for commission of the offence under section 3 read with section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, for contravention of clauses 4 and 15 of the M. P. Food Stuffs (Distribution) Control Order, 1960, hereinafter referred to as the Distribution Control Order. The applicant-accused abjured the guilt in the trial Court and specifically contended that he had been falsely implicated due to enmity of certain village people and more particularly, of the S.A.F. (Special Armed Force) police staff, stationed there, inasmuch as he had refused to relent to their illegal demand of supply of sugar to them without any ration cards. It was also pleaded by him that out of 15 quintals of sugar, he had already earlier brought 10 quintals but for want of proper conveyance, he was unable to bring at the same time the remaining five quintals, which, hence, he had kept at the house of Nathu Ram Jam, Malhara to be brought later when convenient and when transport could be available. According to him, on the relevant date i.e. on 5-7-1978, he had arranged to get this five quintals i.e. 10 bags of sugar from Malhara to Surajpura tn-junction in a tractor of one Deokinandan with the intent that he could thereafter fetch the same from the tn-junction to his house shop in village Durgawan by local transport i.e. by bullock-cart or otherwise. It is in these circumstances that his 10 bags of sugar had been seized at the tn-junction. Defence evidence in this regard was also adduced.