SUPRIYA BASU Vs. BABULAL AGARWAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this revisional application the petitioner prays for quashing the proceeding in the court below being C.R. 98 of 1993 pending in the court of the learned Judicial Magistrate Alipurduar. In this case process was issued against the petitioner accused under sections 385/ 379 I.P.C. on the basis of a complaint filed by the opposite party herein. The main ground on which the proceeding in the court below has been challenged is that previous sanction under Section 197 Cr. P.C. is necessary for prosecuting the petitioner on the allegations made in the complaint but no such sanction was obtained. The petitioner is a Commercial Tax Officer appointed by Governor under notification No. 2748 F.T. dated 8th October, 1991. He is also removable from service only by the Governor who is his appointing authority. After his appointment as Commercial Tax Officer the petitioner has been posted at Jaigaon check post under the Alipurduar range in the district of Jalpaiguri which is stated to be very close to Indo-Bhutan border.

(2.) It is the case of the petitioner that on 23rd March, 1993 at about 11/11-30 a.m. a Jonga covered jeep bearing No. WGS 983 loaded with various articles was proceeding towards the border and came near the check post when the vehicle was intercepted by the petitioner at the said check post in order to verify whether the goods which were being carried, were notified and taxable goods and that after the vehicle came to a halt the petitioner asked the driver of the vehicle to produce the necessary documents relating to transportation of the said goods but the driver pleaded his inability to produce the necessary papers and promised to return with those papers within a short time, leaving the vehicle at the check post duly locked. It is the further contention of the petitioner that the driver however did not turnup for days and instead a registered letter dated 23rd March, 1993 addressed to the petitioner containing various false allegations regarding seizure of the van and papers relating to goods was received by the check post office on 27th March, 1993. On 26th March, 1993 the opposite party who is the Manager of M/s. Malchand Mahabir Prasad filed a petition of complaint before the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Alipurduar against the petitioner over the incident alleging commission of offences trader sections 385, 379 and 506 I.P.C.

(3.) The complainant also prayed for search warrant and pursuant to the search warrant issued by the learned court below police seized the vehicle from the compound of the commercial tax check post office, Jaigaon on the 31st March, 1993 and broke open the lock of the vehicle as the key was not available and seized from inside the vehicle a good number of articles, such as, horlicks, biscuit, soap etc. and prepared a seizure list which is Annexure-B to this revisional application. No papers or challans were however found. Annexure-C to the revisional application is the petition of complaint on the basis of which the opposite party started the proceeding in the court below. Briefly stated, the allegation in the petition of complaint is this. The complainant sent various types of non-taxable goods worth more than rupees forty-one thousand from Alipurduar to Jaigaon in the said vehicle with his representative for selling the goods to the retail shops at Jaigaon market on 23rd March, 1993. But the accused, without wearing any uniform, along with some anti-social elements forcibly snatched away the vehicle along with goods and took away the same at the compound of the C.T.O. check post and on being asked the accused claimed himself as the commercial tax officer at Jaigaon check post and told that taxable goods were lying in the van. When the representative of the complainant had shown the challans and other documents relating to the van and the goods the accused became furious and threatened him with dire consequences and asked the representative to satisfy him. There are also other allegations about subsequent abortive request of the complainant for release of the vehicle along with goods and there is also the allegation of retention of documents by the petitioner.