VIJAY KUMAR Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The instant appeal at the behest of the appellant Vijay Kumar is directed against the judgment of conviction and the order of sentence dated 14.6.2003 whereby he has been ordered to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three years for the commission of an offence under Sec. 7 of the Essential Commodities Act in a case arising out of FIR No. 308 dated 29.11.1995, registered under Ss. 420, 467, 468, 471 IPC and Sec. 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.

(2.) As per prosecution version, the criminal law was set into motion on an application dated 29.11.1995 moved by complainant Harbans Lal Bajaj to ASI Kitab Singh alleging black -marketing of gas cylinders by the gas agency being run under the name and style of Samalkha Gas Service, Samalkha by its proprietor Vijay Kumar Chhabra. Besides this, the complainant further alleged issuance of bogus connections by forging the documents as also over -charging. The complainant further prayed for a thorough investigation into the matter. The ASI made his endorsement on the said application and sent the same to the Police Station Samalkha on the basis of which the impugned FIR came to be registered. Further investigation of the case was entrusted to Inspector Satpal and Inspector Hukam Singh of CID Crime Unit, Faridabad which took into possession the incriminating material attached with the complaint. During the course of investigation, it was found that some of the persons had not been issued the connections and some of the addresses were found wrong whereas the record showed to the contrary. After recording statements of the witnesses, the appellant was arrested and the records of the Gas Agency were taken into possession. The accused -appellant was charge sheeted under Sec. 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.

(3.) The prosecution in support of its case examined PW1 Harbans Lal Bajaj, PW2 Jagtar Singh, Ravinder Singh as PW3, Jai Pal, Clerk in the office of DFSC, Panipat, as PW4, Ashok Kumar PW5, Daya Nand as PW6, Mam Chand as PW7, Hem Raj PW8, HC Guljari Lal PW9, Rohit Sood as PW10, PW11 SI Kashmiri Lal, PW12 Constable Satish Kumar, PW13 M.G. Seikh, Chief Manager, LPG, Delhi, PW14 DSP Narinder Singh (CID), PW15 ASI Rameshwar Dayal, PW16 Inspector Hukam Singh, PW17 ASI Dalel Singh, PW18 Inspector Sat Pal (dead) and closed its evidence. Some of the prosecution witnesses were given being unnecessary.