BANWARILAL AGARWAL Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is one of the two directors of the Central Bhowra Coal Company (Private) Limited, a private company which owns a coal mine known as the Central Bhowra Colliery. He has filed these applications for quashing his prosecution in four cases which are pending against him since 1958.

(2.) It appears that in February 1958, the Chief Inspector of Mines filed four complaints alleging contravention of the provisions of certain sections of the Mines Act, 1952, read with certain rules and regulations of the Mines Rules, 1955, and the Coal Mines Regulations, 1957, whereby both the directors of the company were rendered liable for prosecution by reason of the provisions of Section 76 of the Act, as it then stood, and provided inter alia that:

(3.) After the aforesaid decision of the Supreme Court, the petitioner took the stand in the trial Court that his prosecution alone was not maintainable in view of the interpretation of Section 76 just referred to. But the trial Court by its order dated the 11th December; 1963, negatived this plea of the petitioner. The petitioner then moved the Sessions Judge, and being unsuccessful there also, he came up to this Court in Criminal Revn. No. 476 of 1964 (Pat). That criminal revision was dismissed by a learned Single Judge of this Court on 5-5-1964 with the following observation)-