CARRIER AIRCON LIMITED Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THROUGH this application the petitioner -company, a company registered under the Companies Act and having its registered office at Narsingpur, Gurgaon, Haryana, has, for itself and on behalf of its officers, serving or since retired, as have been arrayed as accused in this case, sought to invoke the inherent jurisdiction of this Court for quashing the order dated 9.8.2005 passed by the learned Sub -Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Patna in Case No. 1475(M)/98. By the aforesaid order the learned Magistrate has rejected the petition of the petitioner praying therein for issuance of special summons for the purpose of pleading guilty and deposit of fine amount through the pleader in terms of the provisions of Sec.206 Cr.P.C. on the ground that coercive measures had already been resorted to prior thereto and the same was a bar to the exercise of powers under Sec.206 Cr. P.C.

(2.) THE facts giving rise to the prosecution case can be culled out from the complaint petition filed by the Labour Superintendent -cum -lnspecting Officer. It appears that at about 3.55 P.M. on 27.8.1998, the office premises of the petitioner -Company located in Aadharshila Complex, South Gandhi Maidan, Patna, was inspected and in course thereof contravention of Sections 6, 12(1), 12 -B and 33(2) of the Bihar Shops and Establishment Act, 1953 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") and Rules 3(6), 11 to 14, 17, 19 and 29 of the Bihar Shops and Establishment Rules, 1955 (hereinafter referrred to as "the Rules") were detected for which the Company and its four officers named therein were liable to be penalised under Sec.34 of the Act. It further appears that the Company and its officers without contesting the case on merit or otherwise decided to accept the guilt and pay the fine and also submitted to the jurisdiction of the trial court by assuring to be careful in future and in that contest a petition was filed praying for issuance of special summons on the accused persons along -with the permission to pay the fine through their counsels in terms of Sec.206 Cr.P.C. A further prayer was also made for exempting them from further appearance and for dropping the proceeding with the object of bringing an end to the litigation without contesting the same. However, the said petition was unceremoniously rejected by the learned Magistrate by the impugned order on the ground that the Court had already resorted to coercive measures to secure the attendance of the accused.

(3.) IT has been submitted on behalf of the petitioner that all the offences which are alleged to have been committed by the petitioner -Company and its officers are petty in nature in view of the provisions of Sec.34 of the Act which reads as follows: