AMARENDRA NATH DAS Vs. DHIRAJ BHATTACHARJEE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an application for quashing of a proceeding being complaint Case No. C.H. 205/1985 under sections 379/ 120B of the Indian Penal Code pending in the Court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jalpaiguri.

(2.) It appears that Nagracata police station case No. 8 dated 26.12.70 under sections 379/411/120B of the Indian Penal Code was registered on the basis of a suo motu complaint lodged by Sub-Inspector Dalbahadur Chettry, Officer-in-charge Nagracata police station. In the First Information Report it was alleged that on receipt of a secret information that some persons from Siliguri area would unscrew the valve near Diana bridge and steal oil from the Indian Oil Pipeline, the complainant along with force left for working out the said information. While proceeding to Diana bridge they found a black fiat car bearing No. WBG 3382 going in high speed in the opposite direction. The police party proceeded further and at 21.30 hours they found a tanker bearing No. WGV 4282 proceeding towards Siliguri. They chased the said tanker and intercepted the same. The tanker was found to be full with diesel oil. On demand the driver could not produce any valid document for the possession of the said 10,000 litres of diesel oil. On interrogation the driver disclosed that the diesel oil was extracted from the pipe line near Diana bridge. They also disclosed that their employer Amarendra Nath Das, Santosh Kumar Das, S.K. Routh Roy, and Officer of Indian Oil Corporation helped to extract the said oil from the pipe line and the said persons proceeded towards Siliguri in a black Fiat car bearing No. WBG 3328. About half an hour thereafter a black Fiat car came there and the aforesaid three persons were found inside the said car. On being challenge the said persons disclosed that the oil belonged to Amarendra Nath Das of Sevoke Service Station. However, they could not produce any valid documents in support of such possession of oil. On search some equipments for extracting oil were also recovered from inside the driver's cabin of the said tanker.

(3.) On 8.10.72 on completion of investigation of the case a charge sheet was submitted against 5 accused persons under sections 379/411/120B of the Indian Penal Code.