STATE Vs. CHUNI LAL VOHARA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Special Magistrate 1st Class, Punjab at Patiala by his order dated 11th april, 1967, convicted Chuni Lal Vohra and Brij Kumar of Amritsar under Section 106 of the Indian Railways Act and sentenced each of them to pay a fine of Rs. 700/ -. He further directed that the goods in regard to which the offence is said to nave been committed should be returned to them. Thereafter the State of Punjab filed the present revision petition in the Court of Session, which came up for hearing before the Additional Sessions Judge Patiala, for modification of the above order to the extent that the goods should not have been ordered to be returned to chuni Lal Vohra and Brij Kumar without payment of the sum of Rupees 2644. 80 p. , as due from them on account of freight and wharfage charges. The respondents in response to the notices Issued to them appeared in Court and contested the revision petition. The learned Additional Sessions judge has disallowed the claim of Rs. 409a which the State of Punjab demanded as freight charges for bringing the goods from gohati to Ambala cantonment. He has recommended to this Court that the order of delivery of goods to the accused respondents without requiring them to pay the charges of the railway to which the f oods might be liable, be quashed and the case e remanded back to the learned Magistrate for an enquiry as to the charges of the railway to which the goods were liable and for making an order of delivery of the goods to the accused on payment of charges so found due,

(2.) THE learned counsel for the respondents referred me to Section 106 of the indian Railways Act which runs as under: -

(3.) FOR the above reasons, the revision preferred by the State of Punjab is allowed in part; the direction of the learned Magistrate in regard to the return of goods to the respondents is modified and the goods are ordered to be returned to them subject to the charge of the railway department on the same. If the railway department under the law is entitled to detain the goods till the amount due from the respondents has been paid, they may so detain the goods.