GANESH CHANDRA BANDOPADHYAY ALIAS BANERJEE Vs. AUTHORISED OFFICER CUM DISTRICT FOREST OFFICER NAYAGARH FOREST DIVISION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this writ petition the petitioner has prayed to quash the confiscation proceeding O.R.No. 152/97-98 pending before the Authorised Officer-cum-Divisional Forest Officer, Nayagarh Division.

(2.) The facts of the case in brief are as follows :- The petitioner, a resident of 7/2, P.W.D.Road, Calcutta-35, is the registered owner of the truck bearing registration No. WML 1000. The petitioner states that the said truck came with the load of empty bottles of Dabur Company from Calcutta to Bhubaneswar and after giving delivery of the articles at the destination while returning from Bhubaneswar to Calcutta a person approached the driver, Namilal Ray, near Gopalpur Check Gate and asked him if he was willing to carry a load of turmeric and chilly from Odegaon to Calcutta. As the truck was empty, the driver agreed to the proposal to carry the same for a consideration of Rs. 4,000/-. Accordingly, the driver of the truck instead of proceeding towards Calcutta proceeded to Odegaon which is in the opposite direction. At Odegaon after taking meals they proceeded towards Bahadajhala. When he was asked to proceed ahead, he became apprehensive and expressed his reluctance to proceed further. But being threatened by that man he proceeded further. On the way at one place some logs were loaded and there the driver and the Khalasi getting opportunity managed to escape leaving the truck there. Both of them went to Bahadajhala Out Post, where the driver, Namilal Ray, reported about the occurrence on 19-8-1997 at 5.00 a.m. On the basis of the said report which was sent to the police station, Odegaon P.S.Case No. 52 of 1997 corresponding to D.R.Case No. 290 of 1997 of the Court of the S.D.J.M., Nayagarh was registered for an offence under Ss. 399/34, I.P.C.

(3.) In the forest case it was alleged that while the vehicle was proceeding with the logs the forest staff who had received intelligence about the illegal transit of logs by that time chased the same. In its bid to speed away the truck met with an accident in between Bukalagadia and Ankulapatna where the driver, namely, Chiranjibi who was driving the vehicle at that time abandoning the vehicle and the logs escaped. The forest staff seized the truck along with its load consisting of 143 pieces of sal sizes (sic) under S.56(1) of the Orissa Forest Act, 1972 and registered the case O.R.No. 152/97-98. The present petitioner who is the registered owner of the truck filed an application before the Authorised Officer on 22-8-1998 to release the seized vehicle in his favour. He was asked to produce the documents to show his ownership over the vehicle. But instead of doing so, he moved this Court in S.J.C.No. 13360 of 1997 for interim release of the vehicle. This Court on 30-9-1997 directed the appropriate authority to dispose of the petitioner's application for interim release of the vehicle in accordance with law. Thereafter the petitioner appeared before the concerned authorised officer and the authorised officer passed an order for interim release of the vehicle with the following terms and conditions :-