MOHINDER SANGWAN Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD . Petitioner is Senior Marketing Representative of M/s. Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited. According to the prosecution, M/s. Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd., which is a Government of India undertaking, had been supplying fertilizers (DAP) to the State of Haryana. According to the State of Haryana (Director of Agriculture, Haryana), in some of the bags supplied, the DAP material was underweight.

(2.) LEARNED Counsel for the petitioner submits that it was Sh. Y.S. Chauhan, Deputy Marketing Manager of M/s. Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd., who informed the Director of Agriculture, Haryana that the rack despatched from the NSPT Port where the bagging was done manually, the bags were underweight. The bags were containing less than 50 kgs. of DAP. Each bag should have contained 50 kgs. of DAP. And, therefore, M/s. Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd., desired that farmers should be charged for the actual weight of DAP contained in the bag and they should not be charged for the standard weight of 50 kgs. Director of Agriculture, Haryana wrote a letter (annexure P.2) to the various Deputy Commissioners and Deputy Directors of Agriculture in the State of Haryana that they should proceed under Clause 21 and Appendix-2 of FCO and Essential Commodities Act against M/s. Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that there was no mala fide intention on the part of the M/s. Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd., as the weight ranged from 40 kgs. to 56 kgs. against the standard weight of 50 kgs. in different bags which were filled either manually or mechanically. He further submits that if there had been any mala fide then each bag should have contained less than 50 kgs. of DAP. He further submits that the petitioner is merely Senior Marketing Representative posted at Kaithal at the sale point of DAP. He is to distribute the DAP bags.