STATE OF RAJASTHAN Vs. BADRI NARAIN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This order will deal with a petition of revision (No. 356/1975) filed by the State of Rajasthan against an order dated 22nd March, 1975, passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Jaipur City, reversing the order dated January 28, 1975 passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate No. 6, Jaipur City and consequently directing the delivery of possession of certain quantity of gold, silver, and currency notes to Badri Narain respondent herein. Incidentally, the order will also deal with a petition of revision (No. 36/1977) filed on behalf of the Gold Control Officer appointed under the Gold Control Act, 1968, (hereafter hereinafter called the Act') against the order dated 25th November, 1976 passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate No. 6, Jaipur City, dismissing the said Officer's application under Section 110 of the Act. Some miscellaneous applications which were filed in this Court from time to time by the parties in the course of these proceedings will also be disposed of.

(2.) The facts which are relevant for the decision of these matters may be breifly stated here. On June 15, 1974, the police in the course of their investigation into a case registered as FIR No. 49/71 Police Station Manak Chowk, raided the house of the respondent Badri Narain and seized from there a large quantity of gold, gold ornaments, silver ornaments and currency notes of the value of Rs. 7,000/-. The total value of the property, thus seized, is stated to be in the order of Rs. 18,00,000/-. As required by Section 110 of the Act, the police reported the seizure to the Gold Control Officer, Jaipur, on June 17,1974. Badri Narain waited for the restoration of this property for a few months. Finding that the authorities concerned were not inclined to restore this property to him, he made an application dated November 26, 1974 under Section 457 Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 to the learned Magistrate for restoration of possession of a part of the property to him on the allegation that the said part had been seized from his possession and he was entitled to its possession. Taking a cue from Badri Narain, similar applications were also made by Mohan Lal, Chandra Prakash, Kanti Devi, Shyama Devi and Bimki Devi for the restoration of possession of the remaining property to them on the allegations that the same belonged to them and they were entitled to its possession. All the six applications were consolidated by the learned Magistrate. On January 28, 1975, the learned Magistrate adjourned the proceedings in all the six applications to February 17, 1975, for hearing and disposal, with a further direction that the investigating agency shall in the mean time complete the investigation and get the ornaments etc. identified if the said agency so desired.

(3.) Badri Narain, it appears, was not prepared to wait for the hearing by and decision of the learned Magistrate in his application under Section 456 Cr. P.C. till February 17, 1975. He rushed to the Court of Session with a petition of revision praying for the reversal of that order and a direction in its place from the learned Sessions Judge that the possession of the property may be delivered to him. By his order, dated, March 22, 1975, the learned Sessions Judge allowed the said petition and directed the police to deliver possession to Badri Narain of the Property as claimed by him in his application under Section 457 Cr. P.C. The State of Rajasthan, as already stated, has challenged the order of the learned Sessions Judge dated March 22, 1975, through its petition of revision No. 356/1975. On an application (Criminal Misc. No. 1161/1975) moved by the State of Rajasthan. This Court, vide its order, dated October 17, 1975, stayed the operation of the impugned order of the learned Sessions Judge, on March 22, 1975.