HIRALAL GUPTA Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS Rule is at the instance of Hiron Lal Gupta whose grievance is that he owns a grocery shop at Serampore Hattola and carries on business in various goods including pulses, dalda, sugar etc. The petitioner runs the said grocery shop on obtaining trade licence under the Bengal Municipal act from the Serampore Municipality and has also obtained licence for selling edible oils etc. under paragraph 6 (1)of the West Bengal Pulses Edible Oil seeds and Edible Oils (Dealer Licencing Order 1978) and the said licence has been renewed from time to time and on the date concerned the said licence was valid.

(2.) THE petitioner states under the shops and Establishment Act. he was required to show his grocery shop closed for 1 days in a week and the petitioner elected to close his grocery shop every week for a half day on Wednesdays from 2-30 p. m. to 8 p. m. and for full day on thursdays in accordance with the requirement of the Shop and Establishment act. A copy of the said notice given by him regarding the weekly closure is annexed to the petition.

(3.) THE petitioner states that on 12. 6. 80, the Sub-Inspector Ganesh Majumder, district Enforcement Office, Serampore, along with District Enforcement officers of Birbhum raided the godown of the petitioner at about 7 a. m. in the morning and sent a message to the petitioner at his residence to attend search and seizure of his shop and godown. On receiving the message the petitioner went and opened the shop and godown under the instruction of the aforesaid sub-Inspector - Ganesh Mazumder although on 12. 6. 80 the shop was closed being a Thursday for the full day under the Shop and Establishment Act. Thereafter the Enforcement Officers seized Dalda, Khesari, Moosurdal, chola, sugar and motor without any physical weigh ment on the basis of the assumed weight of the bags and the tins and noted alleged discrepancy. The petitioner requested the enforcement officer not to seize the goods on the basis of the rate board displayed on 11. 6. 80 wherein the opening of the stocks on 11. 6. 80 were mentioned and the board was due to be written on 13. 6. 80 on reopening. The officers did not consider his request and the explanation that on 11. 6. 80 after the opening of the stock the goods had been sold and there were authentic documents to support the sales and purchase and in any event the stock registers were made uptodate and requested the said enforcement Officer to go through the books and accounts but the Enforcement Officers seized the rate board only and the stocks of various goods stated above and the seized goods were kept in the Zimbanama of one Kanta Prasad of Rampurhat.