KARPAL SINGH Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, relates to quashment of first information report No. 179 dated 16.8.1993, against the petitioners under Sections 420/406 of the Indian Penal Code.

(2.) ACCORDING to the allegations in the impugned first information report, it was alleged on the basis of special informer that the petitioners have opened an office for Gas Booking in the name of M/s. Haryana Gas Service, opposite New Anaj Mandi, Ambala and have started booking for supply of LPG Gas. The petitioners are collecting Rs. 300/- each by issuing Gas Connections in the names of individual persons by making false promises for supplying the LPG Gas connections whereas they are collecting 20 to 22 thousand rupees each from persons for allotting dealership of their company even though petitioners have not obtained any licence or authorisation letter from the Govt. or from the Food and Supplies Department, for booking LPG or for supply of LPG connections. Thus the petitioners were minting money by deceiving people on false assurances by posing as owners of Gas Agency.

(3.) THE learned counsel for the parties were heard. For the sake of convenience the relevant provisions of the parallel marketing system as well as maintenance of records and furnishing of information by parallel marketeer, contained in gazette notification No. G.S.R. 529(E) dated 3rd August, 1993, issued by Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in exercise of powers conferred by Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, are reproduced as under :- (j) "Parallel marketeer" means any person, firm, company, institution, association of persons, Co-operative Society or organisation carrying on the business of importing, refining, producing, bottling, marketing, distributing and selling liquefied petroleum gas under the parallel marketing system; (k) "Parallel marketing system" means the system other than the public distribution system, under which a parallel marketeer imports, transports, bottles, distributes or sells in bulk or in retail, packed or filled in cylinder, liquefied petroleum gas under his own arrangement;