RAM SARAN Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner was convicted under Section 7(1), Essential Supplies Act for failure to keep the price list as required by Rule 18, West Bengal Cotton Cloth and Yarn Control Order, 194S, and for failure to produce the duplicate cash memos for sales of cloth as required by Rule 19.

(2.) It has been contended on behalf of the petitioner that he cannot be said to have contravened Rule 18 of the aforesaid Order unless it is shown that he had in his shop cloth with the price stamped thereon. The rule is in these words:

(3.) On the question whether Rule 19 was contravened it is necessary to notice that the rule requires first that every dealer shall issue a cash memo or credit note with respect to every sale and shall keep a duplicate which shall be produced by such dealer. Before the question of production of a duplicate arises there must be a sale of cloth. There was no evidence in this case of any sale of cloth between April 1950 and the date on which the Enforcement Officer made his inspection namely 31/8/1950, nor is there any evidence of any sale on 31/8/1950. As regards sales in April 1950 or before that the evidence indicates that there was in the shop an old cash memo book with duplicates. The evidence is therefore not very clear as to whether there were such sales after the period to which the old cash memo book related as would require a duplicate to be produced. We have therefore come to the conclusion that the prosecution has not been able to show that the accused-petitioner contravened Rule 19 mentioned above.