ANANDA KUMAR JAIN Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner (hereinafter referred to as 'accused') facing criminal prosecution in II(C) C. C. No. 2 of 1991 under Sections 7 and 9 of the Essential Commodities Act (for short, 'the Act') for contravention of Clause 6 read with Clause 8 (a) (ii) and (vi) and Clause 6 of the Motor Spirit and High Speed Diesel (Prevention of Malpractices in Supply and Distribution) Order, 1990 (hereinafter referred to as 'the order') has filed the present Criminal Misc. Case under Section 488, Cr. P.C. for quashing the proceeding pending before the Special Judge-cum-Sessions Judge, Nalahandi, Bhawanipatna.

(2.) For better appreciation, the prosecution case may succinctly be stated thus : M/s. Janta Service Station, Bhawnipatna is a licensed dealer in petroleum products of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited having licence No. 6/80 issued by the Collector, Kalahandi. The accused on behalf of the said firm alleged to have sold one tank load of 12,000 litres of high speed diesel on 2-3-1991 in black market after lifting the same from Visakhapatnam Depot. Complainant Sarat Chandra Singh Sammant, Assistant Civil Supplies Officer made an enquiry into the incident, in course which he verified the stock register of the firm and found that no stock of high speed diesel had been received in the service station in between 27-1-1991 and 3-3-1991. To ascertain correctness of the entry in the stock register, request was made to Senior Divisional Manager, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, Bhubaneswer, to supply the information as to whether M/s. Janta Service Station had lifted 12,000 litres of high speed diesel on 1/2-2-91. Responding to the request, he confirmed that the dealer had lifted the aforesaid quantity of high speed diesel op 1-2-91 from Visakhapatnam depot. On receipt of such information, stock register of petrol and diesel of the firm maintained from 1-4-90 to 20-2-91 was seized. Thereafter, the Marketing Inspector inspected Visakhapatnam depot to enquire from the Despatch Unit of Bharat Petroleum Corporation about lifting of 12,000 litres of high speed diesel by the firm. On enquiry it came to light that firm by its own tank lorry bearing registration No. CEM (sic) 3785 had lifted 12,000 litres of high speed diesel on 1-8-91 and left Visakhapatnam on the very day. The further case of the prosecution is that the aforesaid tank lorry instead of travelling to Bhawanipatra through the usual route came to Kalahandi via (sic) Sonki unified check-gate. From all these facts and circumstances the complainant being satisfied that 12,000 litres of high speed diesel had been unauthorisedly sold, launched prosecution against the accused under Sections 7 and 9 of the Act to stand his trial for violation of Clause 5 read with Clause 6 of the Order.

(3.) Learned counsel appearing for the accused raised two fold conditions :