KAMALAKANTA SAHOO Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners in this application under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure seek to quash the criminal proceeding initiated in Crl. Trl. (G.R.) Case No.289 of 2004 arising out of Simulia P.S. Case No.96 of 2004 pending in the court of learned J.M.F.C., Soro for the offence under Section 6-A of the Essential Commodities Act.

(2.) The case of the petitioners in nut-shell is that they are permanent residents of Chhatrapur under Simulia P.S. in the district of Balasore. They are two brothers. They have purchased 27 bags of rice amounting to 11.5 quintals for their family consumption from different cultivators. While they were carrying rice in their own Mini Truck bearing Registration No.OR-OIC 4843 ownership of which stands in the name of petitioner no.1, on the way Simulia Police seized the said vehicle as well as rice only on the ground that it was BPL rice meant for P.D.S. (Public Distribution System) and accordingly lodged F.I.R. which has been registered as Simulia P.S. Case No.96 of 2004 under Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, hereinafter to be called as "the Act" in short, against unknown persons.

(3.) The prosecution story as reveals from the F.I.R. lodged by OIC Simulia P.S. is that on 31.07.2004 at 10.40 P.M. on getting information from reliable source at 9 P.M. that one Mini Truck (407) is coming from Balikhanda towards Ranital loaded with BPL rice which is meant for only poor people as provided by the Government for the purpose of illegal selling in black market. Accordingly, he made Station Diary Entry No.5/97 and then proceeded to Balikhanda with police force. On the way at Gourgadi Chhak he found one Mini Truck bearing No. OR-OIC 4843 coming from Balikhanda and instructed the driver of the said vehicle to stop. The driver immediately stopped the vehicle and ran away towards paddy field and concealed himself in the darkness of the night and could not be apprehended in spite of thorough search. Thereafter, the O.I.C. made weighment of rice by calling weighman from nearby village with his weighing instrument which amounted to 11.50 quintals. From the activities of the absconding driver and from his confidential enquiry, he suspected the said rice to be meant for PDS and which the accused driver was being taken by for black marketing. Such act comes within the purview of Section 7 of the Act and accordingly, he seized the same, prepared seizure list and started investigation.