M/S PUBLIC GAS SERVICE Vs. CHANDIGARH ADMINISTRATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) FACTS necessary for the disposal of this petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure seeking to quash F.I.R. No. 235 of 1988 Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act are that S. I. Ishwar Singh Mann was patrolling Industrial Area, Phase II along with some other police officials. He received secret information that the owner of Public Gas Service, Industrial Area Phase II named Surjit Singh was giving LPG Cylinders of Indane Gas @ Rs. 85/-cylinder against the fixed price of Rs. 63.30/- p. to one Sham Lal. Cloth Merchant, Barnala and that Tirath Singh Manager of the said Gas Agency was conniving with the proprietor and was sharing the premium/black money. According to the information, Sham Lal had a truck No PAS-8870 containing empty cylinders in large number and he was replacing the empty cylinders with cylinders full of LPG with Tirath Singh, Manager, and the truck was being loaded for being taken to Barnala via Zirakpur. The S.I. found the information to be reliable and got registered the present F.I.R by sending a ruqa from the place where he got the information. He formed a raiding party and proceeded towards Zirakpur to intercept the truck. The aforesaid truck was intercepted between Chandigarh and Zirakpur with 114 gas cylinders filled with LPG. The truck was seized and the driver and the cleaner were arrested. The owner and Manager of the Gas Agency were subsequently arrested.

(2.) THE petitioners filed a Writ Petition No. 8904 of 1988 for quashing the said F.I.R. The same was dismissed with the observation that he may approach for quashing the F.I.R. under the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure

(3.) FROM what has been stated above, it follows that cooking gas contained in the cylinder is covered by the aforesaid order of the Central Government and is also covered under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.