PARIKH GOPALBHAI KRISHNAKANT Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has approached this Court under section 397 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short ?the Cr.P.C.?)to challenge the order dated 11.2.1998 of the learned Special Judge, Vadodara in ESTP Case No.24 of 1995, whereby the application of the petitioner to drop the proceedings on the ground of limitation was rejected.

(2.) The original application of the petitioner appears to have been based upon the incorrect premises that, since the offence alleged against the petitioner was required to be tried summarily under the provisions of section 12-AA of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (for short ?the Act?), the maximum punishment that could be awarded to the petitioner was imprisonment of two years and, therefore, the provisions of section 468 of the Cr.P.C. applied so as to bring into operation the bar of limitation prescribed therein. The petitioner relied upon the facts that the premises of the petitioner was inspected on 29.4.1992 and, after obtaining necessary sanction of the Collector, FIR was lodged on 29.6.1994 and, after investigation, chargesheet was filed on 3.7.1995. Thus, the chargesheet came to be filed three years after the date of the alleged offence, according to the petition.

(3.) The learned A.P.P. pointed out that the chargesheet was filed to prosecute the accused for the offence punishable under section 7 of the Act which prescribed punishment of imprisonment for a term which may not be less than three months but which may extend to seven years and fine. Therefore, the provisions of section 468 of the Cr.PC. did not at all apply to the facts of the case, according to the submission.