Ravi Nath Verma, J. - (1.) THE petitioner - Ram Ayodhya Yadav by invoking extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of Constitution of India has prayed to command upon the respondent No. 2 the Divisional Forest Officer -cum -Confiscating Authority, Ramgarh to forthwith release the truck of the petitioner bearing registration No. JH -02D -3183 seized in connection with Mandu P.S. Case No. 252 of 2011.
(2.) THE facts of the case, which is relevant for determination of the issue involved in this writ application, in short, is that on a written report of the A.S.I., Mandu Police Station, aforesaid case was instituted on 03.12.2011 under Section 414/34 of the Indian Penal Code and also under Section 30(ii) of Coal Mines Act and under Section 33 of Indian Forest Act with the allegation that on the basis of some confidential information, three trucks including the truck of the petitioner was intercepted loaded with soft coal and on demand no paper was produced by the driver. On search, 500 bags of soft coal weighing almost 10 tones was found loaded in the truck of this petitioner where after a seizure list was prepared. It was also alleged that said coal was illegally extracted from the forest area and after being processed into soft coal, it was sent in the coal market for sale. It appears from the record that the informant of this case, who was Officer -in -Charge of Mandu Police Station sent a report to the Divisional Forest Officer, Ramgarh for initiation of confiscation proceeding of truck and the coal loaded on it and on the basis of said report, the confiscation case bearing No. 93 of 2011 was initiated and on service of notice this petitioner appeared and filed a show -cause with request to release the truck during the pendency of confiscation proceeding on the ground that the seized soft coal was being transported with valid documents and was purchased from Adarsh Coal Sale and Purchase Industrial Transporting Society Ltd., Tilaiya, Bokaro and it was processed coal not directly mined out from the forest of the closed mines and as such no case under Indian Forest Act or Mines Act is made out. It also appears that the confiscation proceeding was initiated in the year 2011 but till today it has not been concluded though the truck in question is a commercial vehicle.
(3.) LEARNED counsel appearing for the petitioner seriously contended that even if the confiscation proceeding has been initiated, the confiscation court has no right to sit over the matter for a long of about four years. It was also contended that the vehicle in question is a commercial one and it is kept in open space without adequate care and the vehicles are vulnerable to vagaries of nature and there will be a lot of damages and there is also apprehension that the parts of the vehicle will be removed. It was also submitted that as an interim measure, the court below may be directed to release the vehicle and the petitioner is ready to face the confiscation proceeding and also ready to comply any direction of this Court.;