SHANKAR SAHNI Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BOTH the appellants have been convicted under Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act (in short 'the Act ') and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year each.

(2.) PROSECUTION case, in short, is that on confidential information that dealer Krishna Kumar Thakur had kept four drums of kerosene oil in the Angan of accused Shankar Sahani for selling the same in black market. Sri R. N. Rai, S.I., Dhamdaha P.S., along with other police officers raided the house of Shankar Sahani on 10.5.88 at 11.30 A.M. He found one drum containing 90 litres of K. Oil at the darwaja of Shankar Sahani. He also found 3 drums in his Angan. One drum contained 90. litres of K. Oil whereas another drum contained half drum of.K. Oil and the third drum contained 60. litres of diesel. He seized aforesaid K. Oil and diesel in presence of witnesses Ramanand Sah and Dinesh Thakur and prepared the seizure list thereof in their presence. Accused Shankar Sahani stated that accused Krishna Kumar Thakur had given aforesaid K. Oil and diesei to him for selling the same in the black market. On the basis of written report Ext. 3 given by Shri Ramanand Rai, Officer -in -Charge Dhamdaha P.S. formal F.I.R. was drawn up against the accused persons. The police took investigation and after completion of the same submitted charge sheet against the appellants. Accordingly cognizance was taken and the trial concluded with the result as indicated above. The appellants pleaded not guilty.

(3.) LEARNED counsel appearing on behalf of the appellants has submitted that in the present case the procedure for trial was summary procedure and it was necessary that the same Special Judge who had recorded the entire evidence ought to have decided the case and the successor in office could not have decided the case on the evidence recorded by his predecessor. In this connection he has placed reliance on the case of Vyas Sah V/s. The State of Bihar 1997(1) P.L.J.R. 991.