SOHAN SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) FIRST Information Report No. 154 dated 14.6.1983 was registered against the petitioners under Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act (briefly the Act) read with Clause 13.1(a) of the Fertilizer Control Order, 1957 as also against M/s Sujan Sons. Industrial Area Phase II, Chandigarh. The petitioners are dealers with registration certificate granted to them under the said order. Shri Rajinder Singh, Fertilizer Inspector took a sample on 4.3.1983 from the Depot/Store/Godown of M/s Sohan Singh Jaura & Co., Sunam strictly according to Schedule II of the aforesaid Order. Full opportunity of putting their own seal upon the sample was provided to the dealers in presence of Shri Gurcharan Singh Sekhon, Agriculture Inspector, Sunam. The sample was deposited in the office of the Chief Agricultural Officer, Sangrur by Shri Rajinder Singh and sent to Fertilizer Testing Laboratory, Ludhiana for analysis. The sample was analysed and its report is as under :-

(2.) THE petitioners have prayed for quashing of the First Information Report and further proceedings before the Special Judge, Sangrur, vide this Criminal Misc.

(3.) IN reply to the said argument, learned counsel for the respondent has submitted that the petition filed by Sujan Singh and Harbhajan Singh accused was accepted vide Annexure P 3 only on a technical ground and not on merits; in-as-much as it has been observed in that order that partners of the firm could not be dragged into trial in the absence of an allegation or evidence to show that they were responsible for the management of the affairs of the firm. Therefore, they could not be held liable for the offence. Criminal Misc 613-M/1976. Bhagwan Dass and others v. The State of Haryana and also another case Manohar Singh and others v. Municipal corporation of Delhi, 1970 Chandigarh Law Reporter (Delhi) 43 were relied upon.