- (1.) SUNIL Kumar Arora is the owner of the truck, bearing Registration No. DL -1GB -2311. The appellant is the constituted attorney of the said owner.
(2.) THE said truck with the consignment of iron wool and cotton was on the way from Jamshedpur to Delhi. On 2nd June, 1998, the said truck was checked at Chhatarpur Forest Check, Naka in Plamau district, now in Jharkhand State. In the said consignment, 210 K.G. of Katha was also concealed and seized from the truck. The driver and one Gouri Shankar Prasad, who is said to be owner of the said Katha, were arrested. The statements of the driver and said Gouri Shankar Prasad were taken at the spot. According to the driver, he had stopped the truck near a line hotel for taking meal over Manika on Ranchi -Daltonganj Road. Said Gouri Shankar Prasad insisted to load Katha on assurance of paying fare for transporting the same to Varanasi. Prosecution report was prepared on that basis. It was alleged that Gouri Shankar Prasad is a habitual trader of illegal Katha and he in connivance of the truck driver loaded the same on the truck fixing fare of Rs. 3,500/ -. The illegal trading of Katha caused revenue loss to the Government. In the said report, it was clearly mentioned that in the said illegal act, the truck owner -Sunil Kumar Arora has got no concern at all. The Hindi version of the report is reproduced herein below: IS APRADH ME TRUCK MALIK SHRI SUNIL ARORA KA KISI PRAKAR KA SAMBANDH NAHI HAI.
(3.) AFTER the seizure of the truck along with the consignment, the truck driver and said Gauri Shankar Prasad were arrested and a criminal case was registered against them.;