- (1.) The present application under S. 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code is directed against the proceedings in Case No. C. R. 235 of 1996 pending in the Court of Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Durgapur.
(2.) The above case arose out of a written complaint lodged by an Inspector of Legal Metrology, Durgapur sub-division with the Court of Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Durgapur.
(3.) The complainant's case may be stated as follows. In course of a surprise visit of LPG bottling plant of Indian Oil Corporation Limited, the petitioner No. 1 company at Durgapur on 22-3-96 along with Assistant Controller of Legal Metrology, Burdwan and Inspector of Legal Metrology, Durgapur, the petitioner No. 3 who happened to be the acting plant manager of that bottling plant was asked to produce filled LPG cylinders for checking of their net content. The checking was undertaken in presence of the petitioner No. 3 and the complainant verified and checked the cylinders which were supplied by the packer. A weight checking data sheet was prepared in 32 filled cylinders as per procedure laid down in R. 24 of the Standards of Weights and Measures (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 1977 (For short, 'Rules'). Out of those 32 LPG filled cylinders an error was detected in one cylinder. According to the second schedule of the aforesaid Rules, the maximum permissible error in deficiency is 150 gms. But as per serial No. 12 of the weight checking data sheet, the net content of that particular LPG cylinder was found to be less than the declared net content by 1200 gms. The error in deficiency was thus more than twice the maximum permissible limit as shown in schedule 2 of the relevant Rules. The LPG cylinder in question was accordingly seized under S. 29 of the Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976 (for short, 'Act of 1976') and it was kept under the safe custody of the petitioner No. 3. The complainant's predecessor effected a seizure on 13-6-95 from this bottling plant for detection of short weight of the contents of LPG cylinders. The offence in respect of that seizure was compounded by the Controller of Legal Metrology, West Bengal under S. 73 of the Act of 1976 read with S. 65 of the Standards of Weights and Measures (Enforcement) Act, 1985 (for short, 'Act of 1985') and the petitioner company paid the compounding fees amounting to Rs. 4,995/- on 7-7-95. Thus the offence in relation to the short weight that was detected on 22-3-96 is a second offence within the meaning of S. 65(2) of the Act of 1985 within a period of three years from the date on which the first offence was compounded. The act of manufacturing, packing, distributing, selling, offering, exposing, processing for sale of any packaged commodity which does not conform to the declared net weight as per the provisions of R. 24(4)(c) of the Rules amounts to contravention of S. 39 of the Act of 1976 read with R. 25 of the Rules and is punishable under S. 63 of the said Act. The petitioner No. 3 as acting plant manager packed and possessed for distribution of the concerned filled LPG cylinder and had thereby committed an offence under S. 39 of the Act which is punishable under S. 63 of the Act of 1976. The petitioner No. 1 being the Company and the petitioner No. 2 being its Managing Director have also committed the said offence within the meaning of S. 74 of the Act of 1976.;