MD. NAZIR Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The application is for quashing the entire criminal prosecution pending against the petitioner in the court of learned Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class, Godda, vide Mehrama P.S. Case No 2(10) 1980/Tr. No. 107 of 1990 under Sec. 7 of the E.C. Act and Sec. 120-B of the Indian Penal Code.

(2.) Some of the facts relevant for disposal of the application may be stated. The petitioner claims to be a public distribution system dealer in terms of an agreement entered into between the petitioner and the State Government. In a prosecution report drawn by the officer-incharge of the police station it was alleged that in course of enquiry held on 17-10-1980 regarding the sale of sugar by the petitioner it was disclosed that three bags of sugar were lifted by the petitioner on permit and kept in the sweetmeat shop of one Deoki Nandan. The allegation was that the petitioner had illegally sold sugar. A copy of the F.I.R. is Annexure-1. The police after investigation submitted charge-sheet on the basis of which the learned Sub-divisional Judicial Magistrate by his order dated 10-9-1981 (Annexure-2) took cognizance of the offence.

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that although the petitioner had taken a number of grounds in his application in support of his case that the impugned order taking cognizance as also his criminal prosecution for the offences alleged or illegal and without jurisdiction ; he was for the present confining his attack to only one ground namely that the court before whom the trial was pending or for that matter any other court had no legal jurisdiction to try the offences alleged against the petitioner. There is no dispute with regard to the fact that the date of occurrence was 17-10-1980 that is when the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 was in force. In other words the trial of the case was to be governed by the provisions of the Act of 1955 and not by the provisions of the Essential Commodities (Special Provisions) Act, 1982 which came into force with effect from 1-9-82. Sec. 12-A of the Act of 1955 containing provisions for trial of the cases in a summary way. It is not necessary ,to notice the relevant provisions of Sec. 12-A in their entirety except clause (b) of sub-section (2) of the section which reads as follows:-