GOPAL PRASAD GUPTA Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Mr. Arun Kumar Tripathy appears as Amicus Curiae in this appeal.

(2.) At the instance of Jagdish Singh (PW 7), the First Information Report was instituted on 2.2.1989 at 7.30 p.m. in which it is stated that he went to the shop of Gopal Prasad Gupta and found that one Fakira Sao (PW 6) was purchasing four and half bags of sugar. The informant wanted to purchase ten kgs. of sugar but Gopal Prasad Gupta demanded Rs. 7.50 per kilogram for the sugar. The informant was unable to pay the price. It is also alleged that Ganga Singh, Gopal Singh and Prahlad Singh came to the shop of Fakira Sao to purchase sugar. On the the basis of the aforesaid information, the First Information Report was instituted. Thereafter the Officer-in-Charge, Dy. S.R and the CO. raided the shop of Fakira Sao and seized four and half bags of sugar from his shop. Seizure list was prepared in presence of Officer-in-Charge and the CO. It is also alleged that thereafter the Investigating Officer and the others conducted raid and found that five bags of sugar were recovered from the verandah of PW 4 and eight bags of sugar were recovered from the field of Ram Pati Chourasiya. Apart from that, several bags of sugar were also recovered from the house of Balwant Singh, Gopal Prasad Gupta (the appellant) and Keshwar Prasad Gupta.

(3.) Gopal Prasad Gupta, the appellant is the wholesale dealer of sugar and the Investigating Officer came to know that Gopal Prasad Gupta had kept nine bags of sugar in the house of Sheorani Devi and eight bags of sugar were kept in the field of Rampati Chourasiya. Seizure lists (Exhibits 2 and 3) were prepared in presence of Naveen Kumar and Ram Sagar Singh, the CO. The villagers disclosed during investigation that Gopal Prasad Gupta had distributed eight bags of sugar to Keshwar Prasad Gupta, fair price dealer in Araria and Kailash Singh, another fair price dealer of Araria. It was also found that Gopal Prasad Gupta had given sixteen bags of sugar to Balwant Singh of village Kesore. The Investigating Officer searched the shops of the two fair price dealers and recovered six bags of sugar from their shops. The Investigating Officer also found that the stock register and distribution register was not maintained by these fair price dealers.