POONAM SRIVASTAVA, J. - (1.) HEARD Sri Manish Tiwary, learned Counsel for the petitioner and learned A.G.A. for the State.
(2.) THESE three writ petitions are being decided by a common judgment as the question involved is one and the same. The petitioner is a company duly incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 having its registered office at 51, Richmond Road, Bangalore. Its distillery is situated at Rosa, District Shahjahanpur. The said Company is established under a licence in Form PD -2 and runs a distillery for distillation of rectified spirit and also has a bottling licence in Form FL3/3A licence issued under the U.P. Bottling of IMFL Rules, 1969 and also manufactures potable alcohol at Rosa, Shahjahanpur. The petitioner distillery also purchases high strength alcohol from the other distilleries of the State when their demand for liquor is more than their own production of spirit/alcohol. After purchasing high strength alcohol, it is reduced up to the strength of potable alcohol after various process in the factory premises. The distillery of the petitioner company is commonly known as Rosa Distillery.
(3.) THE facts giving rise to the dispute is that on 4 -4 -2005, the Excise Commissioner U.P. permitted the petitioner to transport five lakhs bulk liters of ENA (Extra Neutral Alcohol) from Saraya Distillery, Sardarnagar, District Gorakhpur. In pursuance of the aforesaid permit, petitioner distillery vide its letter dated 5 -4 -2005 informed the Saraya Distillery to permit the lifting of the ENA through tankers mentioned in the letter. The transporter vide his letter dated 11 -4 -2005 submitted names of his authorized drivers with tanker numbers. It is submitted that the petitioner deposited the entire cost price of the E.N.A. including other Government taxes on the alleged consignments and in respect thereof bills were issued by the Saraya Distillery on 12 -4 -2005. The tankers were intercepted by the respondent No. 4 in the midnight of 13 -4 -2005 on an allegation that the driver and cleaner of the tanker had indulged in theft of the E.N.A. from the tanker at Dhaba, District Basti, consequently the tanker and entire E.N.A. loaded in the tanker had been seized and a case was registered against the driver, cleaner, transporter, seller distillery (Saraya Distillery Sardarnagar, Gorakhpur) and petitioner M/s McDowell and Company (purchaser distillery) by the respondent No. 4. A show -cause notice was issued on 25 -4 -2005 directing the petitioner to appear in the Court on 15 -6 -2005. Another show -cause notice was issued on 1 -6 -2005 directing the petitioner to appear in the Court on 6 - 6 -2005. A certificate certifying the legal sanctity and validity of the consignments was issued by the officer incharge of Saraya Distillery to the petitioner, which is annexed as Annexure -7 to the writ petition. The petitioner filed a release application before the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Shahjahanpur on 17 - 9 -2005 for release of the E.N.A. loaded in the tankers. The release application of the petitioner was rejected by the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate vide order dated 24 -9 -2005. The petitioner filed Criminal Revision No. 680 of 2005 before the learned Sessions Judge, Basti, which was allowed vide order dated 7 -11 -2005. The learned Sessions Judge also directed the Court below to release the aforesaid E.N.A. stored in the three tankers in the interim custody of the revisionist on his furnishing a personal bond of Rs. Thirty lacs and two sureties each in the like amount for the E.N.A. in respect of each tanker and on giving a written undertaking that the aforesaid article will not be consumed or disposed of in any manner and its nature will not be changed during pendency of the case and whenever required by the Court or Investigating Officer or any other authority, the same will be produced.;