Smt. Ram Mani Devi vs State Of U.P. And Another
2017 Latest Caselaw 6437 ALL

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
 
 

A.F.R.
 
Court No. - 17
 

 
Case :- CRIMINAL REVISION No. - 974 of 2016
 

 
Revisionist :- Smt. Ram Mani Devi
 
Opposite Party :- State Of U.P. And Another
 
Counsel for Revisionist :- Shyam Sunder Mishra
 
Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.
 

 
Hon'ble Prabhat Chandra Tripathi,J
 

 
1.

Heard Sri Shyam Sunder Mishra, learned counsel for the revisionist and learned A.G.A. for the State and perused the record.

2. The revisionist has made following prayers:-

"It is therefore, most respectfully prayed that this Hon'ble Court may graciously be pleased to allow this revision and set aside the impugned judgement and order dated 3.3.2016 passed by the learned Special Judge, Essential Commodities Act/Additional District and Sessions Judge, Fatehpur in Criminal Appeal No.05 of 2016, Smt. Ram Mani Devi Versus State of U.P. and the order dated 3.5.2014 passed by the Collector, Fatehpur in Case No.08/12-13, State Versus Aditya Narayan Shukla, under Section 6-A Essential Commodities Act, Police Station Khaga, District Fatehpur.

It is further prayed that this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to direct the District Magistrate, Fatehpur to refund the amount of seized/confiscated wheat 317.15 quintal and rice 15.87 quintal in favour of the revisionist, otherwise the revisionist shall suffer with irreparable loss and injury, during the pendency of this revision or pass such other and further order, which this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the fact and circumstances of the case."

3. The arguments of the learned counsel for the revisionist are enumerated as below:-

"(i) The confiscated wheat belonged to the revisionist. (ii) In the order dated 3.5.2014 of the learned court of the Collector, Fatehpur it has been admitted that the revisionist has filed Katauni but in the Kisan Bahi there is no mention of sale of food-grains. (iii) The revisionist is not named in the First Information Report as an accused person. (iv) The house of the revisionist and the fair price shop are situated adjacent to each other. (v) The learned court of the Special Judge, E.C. Act/Additional District and Sessions Judge, Fatehpur vide its order dated 3.3.2016 has not discussed the evidence adduced by the revisionist and has totally discarded that. (vi) No other arguments were advanced."

4. The facts of the F.I.R. which is in Hindi vernacular is enumerated in narrow compass as below:-

"Mr. Savant Kumar, Supply Inspector, Khaga Township has presented one written application before the Officer Incharge, Police Station Kotwali Khaga, District Fatehpur that on 24.8.2012 at 1:00 P.M. the applicant/informant Mr. Savant Kumar, Supply Inspector, Khaga, Mr. Lavkush Kumar Tripathi, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Khaga, Mr. Lal Singh, Supply Clerk, Khaga, Mr. S.K. Dwivedi, Incharge, Outpost Majhilgaon and other police constables reached at the fair price shop of Aditya Narayan Shukla situated at Katoghan where they found one tractor bearing registration no.71B/7113 was plying alongwith trolley and 75 bags of wheat were loaded in the trolley. One person who was standing nearby the tractor has stated that he has purchased this government grain at the market rate of Rs.1300/- only per quintal. The enquiry team enquired about the available stock inside the shop of Aditya Narayan Shukla and found different quantities of food-grains viz wheat and rice belonging to different categories of consumers viz APL and BPL and Wadhawa Committee. Meanwhile the driver of the tractor eloped from the place of occurrence. As mentioned in the stock register 40.25 quintal of wheat was found in excess. Thereafter whole wheat 317.75 quintal was taken in possession and seized and thereafter it was handed over in the supurdagi of Sri Sumer Singh and a case under Section 3/7 Essential Commodities Act, 1955 was registered against Aditya Narayan Shukla son of Rajendra Prasad Shukla, fair price dealer, Rajendra Prajapati son of Phoolchandra Prajapati and owner and driver of the tractor bearing registration no. U.P. 71 B 7113."

5. Aggrieved by this act of confiscation/seizure of wheat one Jagjeet Singh son of Raghuraj, resident of village Katoghan, Police Station Khaga, District Fatehpur preferred an application before the District Magistrate, Fatehpur for release of the confiscated wheat. The facts which were mentioned in the application were that in the village Katoghan he and his wife Ram Mani are tenure holders of the agricultural land admeasuring 8-9 bighas. On 24.8.2012 he alongwith Rajendra Prajapati went to sell 75 bags of wheat by loading it in the tractor of Raj Bahadur Singh. When he went to answer the call of nature the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Khaga and police persons of outpost Majhilgaon handed over it to Sumer Singh, fair price dealer of village Katoghan alleging it to be wheat of 'Quota' of Aditya Narayan Singh. Due to which 40-50 quintal of wheat of the applicant Jagjeet Singh was given. The applicant Jagjeet Singh has also submitted an affidavit in support thereof.

6. The learned court of the Collector, Fatehpur vide its order dated 3.5.2014 has vividly discussed the whole matter and arrived at the conclusion that confiscated/seized food-grains was carried for sale in the black market. Before the learned Collector, Fatehpur Jagjeet Singh has filed Khasra belonging to Khata nos. 160 and 2159 and Khasra nos. 76, 888, 946, 1000, 3881.

7. In the order dated 3.5.2014 it has been mentioned by the learned Collector that Jagjeet Singh could not reveal the sale price of the food-grains and there is no entry regarding sale of even one quintal of food-grains in the Kisan Bahi of Jagjeet Singh and in the enquiry also the contention of Jagjeet Singh was found baseless.

8. At the conclusion the learned Collector, Fatehpur ordered for seizure/confiscation of 317.75 quintal of wheat and 15.87 quintal of rice. The District Supply Officer, Fatehpur was ordered to deposit the money in the government account after disposal of the food-grains according to law.

9. An appeal under Section 6-A Essential Commodities Act, 1955 was preferred before the learned court of the Special Judge, E.C. Act/Additional District and Sessions Judge, Fatehpur vide its order dated 3.3.2016 passed in Criminal Appeal No.05 of 2016 [Jagjeet Singh (now dead) through Ram Mani Devi Vs. State of U.P. ] has dismissed the criminal appeal of the appellant and has affirmed the order dated 3.5.2014 of the learned court of the Collector, Fatehpur. Learned Special Judge, E.C. Act/Additional District and Sessions Judge, Fatehpur in his judgement and order dated 3.3.2016 has specifically mentioned that 75 bags of wheat which were recovered from the tractor/trolley bearing registration no.U.P. 71B-7113 were found to belong Rajendra Prajapati who purchased that from Aditya Narayan Shukla at the rate of Rs.1300/- per quintal. In this case charge-sheet has been submitted and recovery of food-grains was shown in the tractor which was plying before the fair price shop of Aditya Narayan Shukla. It is also mentioned that at the time of recovery of food-grains Rajendra Prajapati was standing there. Appellant Jagjeet Singh was not present at that moment. At the time of recovery Rajendra Prajapati has stated that he has purchased the food-grains from Aditya Narayan Shukla.

10. The appellant Jagjeet Singh himself presented an application before the District Magistrate, Fatehpur for release of wheat and after hearing the contention of the appellant the learned court of the Collector, Fatehpur adjudicated upon the matter and passed the impugned order dated 3.5.2014. Thus, it can never be said appellant Jagjeet Singh was deprived of any opportunity of hearing.

11. As regards the enquiry conducted by the officers of the District Supply Department, Fatehpur there is separate forum for disposal of the confiscated food-grains and under Section 6-A Essential Commodities Act such type of powers are vested in the Collector of the district. Moreover, at the time of confiscation/seizure of 75 bags of wheat the revisionist Jagjeet Singh was not present at the place of occurrence. This alibi has been taken by the revisionist Jagjeet Singh that he went to answer the call of nature meanwhile all the events or the happenings of confiscation/seizure of 75 bags of food-grains took place. It is evident from the order dated 3.3.2016 of the learned court of Special Judge, E.C. Act/Additional District and Sessions Judge, Fatehpur that a case under Section 3/7 Essential Commodities Act, 1955 is pending between Kotedar Aditya Narayan Shukla and Rajendra Prajapati.

12. In the light of the above discussion it is of paramount importance that order dated 3.5.2014 passed by the court of Collector, Fatehpur and order dated 3.3.2016 passed by the learned court of Special Judge, E.C. Act/Additional District and Sessions Judge, Fatehpur suffers from no illegality, impropriety and perversity.

13. The criminal revision lacks merits and is liable to be dismissed. It is, accordingly, dismissed on merits.

Order Date :- 7.11.2017

S.Sharma