- (1.) THIS revision is directed against an order dated 26-7-1977 passed by Sessions Judge Etawah, confirming the order dated 22-2-1977 passed by District Magistrate, Etawah, confiscating Truck No. M. P. I. 3990 in a case under the Essential Commodities Act.
(2.) TAGGED to this revision is writ petition No. 2965 of 1977 also filed by the applicant. Through this writ petition also the applicant wants that orders dated 22-2-1977 and 26-7-1977 referred to above be quashed. The applicant filed this writ petition by way of caution because on the date on which it had filed the present revision, it was not sure whether this revision was legally maintainable or not. Now the position in regard to the filing of a revision like this, has become quite clear. In Thakur Das v. State of Madhya Pradesh it has been held that a Sessions Court while hearing appeal under Section 6-C of the Essential Commodities Act is an inferior Criminal Court in relation to High Court and as such the order passed by the Sessions Court is amenable to revisional jurisdiction of the High Court. In view of this, the learned Counsel for the applicant did not press the writ petition.
(3.) ON 3-5-1976 the Senior Marketing Inspector, Jaswantnagar had to send 100 bags of levy wheat of Food Corporation of India Ltd. , to Etawah. He contacted M/s. Narain Das Hari Ram to supply a Truck for the above purpose. They supplied Truck No. M. P. I. 3990 and on this Truck 100 bags of wheat were loaded for being transported to Etawah. The Truck carrying these bags did not reach Etawah, whereupon on 45-1976 Hari Ram, one of the proprietors of M/s. Narain Das Hari Ram, lodged a report with the police against the drivers of the truck. A case under Sections 406/411, I. P. C. and Section 7, Essential Commodities Act was registered. The police immediately took action in the matter and succeeded in tracing out Truck No. MPI 3990. They seized that truck. This Truck had been taken by Satnam Singh Chawla on hire purchase basis from the applicant (M/s. Sardar Finance Corporation ). Satnam Singh Chawla made an application in the Court of Judicial Magistrate Bidhuna for the release of his Truck. The Magistrate concerned directed Satnam Singh Chawla to produce papers regarding his title to the Truck. The applicant (M/s. Sardar Finance Corporation) also filed an application in the Court of Judicial Magistrate Bidhuna for the release of the Truck in its favour. As Satnam Singh Chawla did not file any papers regarding his title to the truck, the learned Judicial Magistrate passed an order on 1-7-1976 releasing the truck in favour of the applicant. Hari Ram of M/s. Narain Das Hari Ram lost no time and filed a revision in the Court of Session against the Magistrate's order dated 1-7-1976. The learned Sessions Judge dismissed that revision on 24-7-1976 holding that it was not maintainable under law. Hari Ram then hastened to file an application in this Court under Section 482, Criminal P. C. and prayed for quashing orders dated 1-71976 and 24-7-1976 referred to above. In the proceedings under Section 482, Criminal P. C. Hari Ram alleged that the Judicial Magistrate Bidhuna had no jurisdiction to release the truck in favour of the applicant because at the time when the learned Magistrate passed the release order, proceedings under Section 6-A of the Essential Commodities Act were pending before Collector Etawah and, therefore, it was the Collector Etawah only who could have passed an order in regard to the Truck in question. This Court accepted the contention of Hari Ram. allowed his application and quashed the order releasing the truck in favour of the applicant.;