M RAMACHANDRA SAHU Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant (hereinafter referred to as 'the accused') assails the judgment of the learned Special Judge, Berhampur, Ganjam, passed in G. R. Case No. 1112 of 1985 whereby he has been held guilty and convicted under Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act (for short, 'the Act') for contravening clause 3 of the Orissa Kerosene Control Order, 1962 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Order') and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two months and to pay a fine of Rs. 500/-, in default to suffer rigorous imprisonment for a further period of 30 days.

(2.) Briefly stated, the prosecution case was that on 1-11-85 at about 10.30 P.M. Prabhat Chandra Tripathy, A.S.I. of Police (P.W.3) and Bhagaban Misra, S. I. of Police (P.W.4) while performing patrol duty at Aska Road, found a truck bearing registration No. APP 9538 coming from a petrol pump side and proceeding towards Gate-bazar. They detained the truck and on verification found 47 jerricans full of kerosene. On demand by P.W.4, accused, the driver of the truck, could not show any authority for transporting such huge quantity of kerosene. So P.W.4 seized the truck as also the kerosene in presence of witnesses and submitted a written report, Ext. 2 to the Inspector-in-charge, Town P.S., on receipt of which P. S. Case No. 145 of 1985 was registered and investigation was taken up and on completion thereof, charge-sheet was laid against the accused under Section 7 of the Act for violating clause 3 of the Order.

(3.) The accused in his statement recorded under Section 313, Cr. P.C. while not disputing the seizure of kerosene, pleaded, inter alia, that the seized kerosene did not belong to him, but to one Bhagaban Das Chaturbhuj who had hired the truck for transport.