DULAL SARKAR Vs. STATE OF TRIPURA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Criminal revision petition is directed against the judgment dated 06.08.2018 delivered in Criminal Appeal No.1(01) of 2017 by the Additional Sessions Judge, Gomati Judicial District, Udaipur affirming the judgment and order of conviction and sentence passed by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Gomati Judicial District, Udaipur convicting the petitioner for committing offence punishable under Section 7(1)(a)(ii) of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 and sentencing them as follows:

(2.) The genesis of the prosecution case is rooted in the suo motu FIR lodged by Dipak Bhattacharjee (PW-8) at Kakraban Police Station alleging that pursuant to a tip-off received from secret source of police, he along with his accompanying police staff carried out a raid in the house of the petitioners who were reported to have stored huge quantity of ration rice (PDS rice) in their respective houses. During such raid the informant seized 12 bags of PDS rice, each bag containing 50 kg from the house of petitioner, Titash Sarkar. At the time of the said raid petitioner was not available at home. Members of his family could not offer any kind of explanation to the informant with regard to the possession of the said rice. On the same day, the informant seized 30 bags of PDS rice, each bag containing 50 KG from the house of Dulal Sarkar. Apart from said rice, 12 bottles of beer were also recovered and seized from the house of Dulal Sarkar. Petitioner Dulal Sarkar was not also available at home at the time of raid and seizure. Members of his family failed to account for such unauthorized possession of PDS rice and beer by said petitioner Dulal Sarkar. The informant (PW-8) had drawn up two separate seizure lists in presence of witnesses and then lodged the suo motu FIR at the police station.

(3.) Based on his FIR, Kakraban PS case No.59 of 2014 under Section 7(1)(a)(ii) was registered for contravention of Tripura Foodstuff Dealers' Licensing Order, 2010 and investigation of the case was taken up by the investigating agency.