- (1.) Order dated January 20, 1997 passed by the Collector under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, Malda in confiscation case No. 1/97 forms the subject-matter of challenge in the instant revisional application that has been filed under Article 227 of the Constitution of India.
(2.) The facts leading to this confiscation case may in substance be stated as follows : On 26-12-96, at about 17.15 hours, acting on an information to the effect that the present petitioner was carrying on a business of several essential commodities and sending those to Bangladesh and also the information to the effect that a truck was being loaded with wheat from the godown of the present petitioner, the O.C. Mathabari Out Post P.S. Kalaiachak diarised the information under Mathabari O.P. being G.D. entry No. 527, dated 26-12-96 and accompanied by other police officials raided the said godown of the present petitioner. At the time of raid a truck bearing No. W.B. 65/1095 was being loaded with wheat in front of the godown. The petitioner was then present and on interrogation it was ascertained that he was sending the wheat by that truck to one Murli Agarwala of Kalaiachak who had already paid the price thereof. On being asked by the raiding party the petitioner failed to produce any stock register, sale register, cash memo, price list and stock board or any other valid document for dealing in wheat. The truck was seized. It was loaded with 64 bagful of wheat containing 77 quintal 22 Kgs. of wheat. The said wheat was also seized. The said godown was also searched and 38 bagful of Bazra weighing about 80 Kgs. each and 2 bagful of Barley weighing about 80 Kgs. each were found inside the godown and for the said two commodities no document as in the case of seized wheat could be produced by the petitioner on being asked for by the raiding party. The said Bazra and Barley were then seized along with other measuring instruments. It transpired during the interrogation of the petitioner that he has got another godown on the rear side of the building. The said godown was then under lock and key and the petitioner on being asked could not produce the key, as a result of which, the raiding party had to break open the lock of that godown. That godown was also searched and the search led to recovery of 16 bagful of sugar each containing 80 Kgs., 11 bagful of Khesaridalcontaining 50 Kgs. each and 8 bags of Khansari containing 100 Kgs. each. No license could be produced by the petitioner for such huge stock of sugar and pulses. The petitioner did not also maintain any books of account and also failed to produce any price list or board. The sugar and pulses were accordingly seized.
(3.) On the aforesaid allegations, Kaliachak P. S. Case No. 193/96, dated 27-12-96 was registered against the present petitioner and the driver of the seized truck under Section 7(1)(a)(ii) of the Essential Commodities Act and the said case is still under investigation.;