- (1.)ON December 17, 1971, the Jorasanko police arrested two persons Lai Mohammad and Sk. Kamal under section 54 of the Code of Criminal procedure suspected to have been involved in a cognizable offence. They had in their possession a cow. The police seized the same. Thereafter, the police produced the accused before the Additional Chief Presidency Magistrate who directed them to remain in police custody. The police further sought for the Magistrate's permission to keep the seized cow in a pound for the purpose of investigation. The learned Magistrate permitted the police to keep the cow in the pound.
(2.)THE petitioner subsequently filed an application for return of the cow and a calf which the cow had in the meantime given birth to in the pound. The learned magistrate made an order for return of the cow and the calf to the petitioner on a bond of Rs. 600/ -. The petitioner subsequently informed the Magistrate that he could not get return of the cow and the calf as the pound authorities were demanding pound fees and feeding charges for the period for which the cow and the calf were kept to the pound. He, therefore, prayed for exemption from such payment. The learned Magistrate rejected the prayer for such exemption. Subsequently, the petitioner made a similar prayer of march 23, 1972. but the learned Magistrate again rejected the prayer. The petitioner thereafter obtained this Rule.
(3.)OBVIOUSLY, the pound authorities demanded the pound fees and the feeding charges under Regulation 5 (b), Chapter xxix of the Police Retaliations, Calcutta. The pound fees or feeding charges are payable only in respect of animals which are impounded in the pound. But in the instant case the cow and the calf were not impounded in the pound. The cow was not found loitering in the street and nobody impounded the cow. The cow was found in possession of some persons suspected to have committed some criminal offence and the police seized the same obviously as part of the investigation in respect of the suspected cognisable offence and the cow was kept in the pound under orders of the Magistrate and not impounded. So, the fees payable under regulation 5 (b) of Chapter XXIX of the calcutta Police Regulations are not payable in the instant case.