TRADERS SYNDICATE Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, a company carrying on business of financing hire-purchase of motor vehicles, has filed this revision application against an order dated the 17th April, 1969, of the Sub-divisional Magistrate, Motihari, refusing to release an ambassador car bearing registration No. WBG 3919,

(2.) According to the petitioner, on the 27th July, 1967, the car in question was let out on hire-purchase agreement to one Sabir Ibrahim Chiniwala, and one Mahesh Jha of village Barhonia, District Monghyr, was the guarantor of the hire-purchase. It is alleged that only four monthly instalments were paid after the hire-purchase agreement and Rupees 9,600/- was not paid to the petitioner by the hirer in spite of demands. The petitioner, while enquiring into the matter, learnt that the car has. been seized by the Police and is lying at Motihari for violation of some Excise law, and filed an application before the Sub-divisional Magistrate for the release of the car on security, which was rejected by the Sub-divisional Magistrate by the impugned order.

(3.) The car in question was seized on the 16th December, 1968, at Mehsi, containing non-duty paid contraband Nepali Ganja, weighing 161 kilograms, and one Sajiwan Yadav was arrested by the mobile squad of the Excise Department. A case under Section 47 (a) of the Bihar and Orissa Excise Act, 1915, (hereinafter referred to as the Excise Act) was instituted and Sajiwan Yadav was forwarded to the Sub-divisional Magistrate, Motihari, by Shree Krishnadeva Singh, Sub-Inspector of Excise. Subsequently, some more persons were arrested and forwarded to the Sub-divisional Magistrate. Thereafter the petitioner filed an application for release of the car, which was rejected by the impugned order of the Sub-divisional Magistrate, against which the present revision application has been filed.