Anil Kumar Yadav vs The State Of Assam
2022 Latest Caselaw 4771 Gua

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GAHC010247372022




                              THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT
     (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH)

                                 Case No. : Crl.Pet./1226/2022

             ANIL KUMAR YADAV
             S/O SIBU YADAV, (DULY CONSTITUTED ATTORNEY FOR PRINCIPAL SMTI.
             PRIYANKA MAURYA, PROPRIETOR OF M/S KUMAR TRADERS AND
             COMPANY, CHAIRMAN ROAD, INSIDE BHIWANIA MILL COMPOUND, P.O,
             P.S. AND DIST-DHUBRI, ASSAM, PIN-783301

             VERSUS

             THE STATE OF ASSAM
             REPRESENTED BY THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, ASSAM

Advocate for the Petitioner   : MR. M A SHEIKH

Advocate for the Respondent : PP, ASSAM

                                    BEFORE
                   HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MANISH CHOUDHURY

                                           ORDER

Date : 05.12.2022

Heard Mr. M.A. Sheikh, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. M.P. Goswami, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the respondent State of Assam.

2. This criminal petition under Section 482, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 [CrPC] has been preferred against an Order dated 24.02.2022 passed by the Court of learned Additional Sessions Judge, No. 3, Nagaon in Criminal Revision no. 14[N]/2021 & Criminal Revision no. 15[N]/2021, which have arisen out of Nagaon Police Station Case no. 2078/2021.

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3. A consignment of Supari [Areca Nut] of suspected Burmese origin was seized in connection with Nagaon Police Station Case no. 2078/2021. The petitioner claiming custody of the said consignment, preferred a custody petition before the Court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Nagaon and the Court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Nagaon rejected the prayer for custody. Aggrieved thereby, the petitioner preferred a criminal revision petition, Criminal Revision no. 14[N]/2021 before the Court of learned Additional Sessions Judge, No. 3, Nagaon, Assam ['the Revisional Court', for short]. The Revisional Court after hearing the learned counsel for the parties, by judgment dated 29.10.2021, directed the Investigating Officer [I.O.] of the case to handover the seized consignment of Areca Nuts to the person from whom the consignment was seized, pending conclusion of investigation subject to compliance of requisite formalities like execution of bond, etc. When the direction of the Revisional Court was not complied with, the petitioner approached the Revisional Court again. The I.O. of the case placed a report before the Revisional Court which reported that the seized Areca Nuts were not fit for human consumption. Taking note of the report submitted by the I.O., the Revisional Court by the impugned order dated 24.02.2022 modified its earlier direction and directed inter alia the I.O. to take steps to unload the consignment of seized Areca Nuts and thereafter, taking instruction from the office of the Pollution Control Board ['the Board'] to dispose the same in the manner indicated by the Board.

4. On the aspect of delay, Mr. Sheikh has referred to the writ petition, W.P.[C] no. 1664/2022 preferred by the petitioner wherein an interim order, dated 08.03.2022, not to destroy the consignment of seized Areca Nuts was in operation on and from 08.03.2022 till 29.11.2022. The said writ petition came to be withdrawn on 29.11.2022 with the liberty to file proper petition and accordingly, the instant criminal petition is filed pursuant to withdrawal of the writ petition W.P.[C] no. 1664/2022.

5. Mr. Sheikh has submitted that once the Revisional Court had passed the order with regard custody it could not have modified the same as the same amounts to review and it is, thus, hit by Section 362, CrPC. He has further submitted that instead of a direction to destroy the consignment of seized Areca Nuts, the same could have directed to be sold in an auction, Page No. 3/3

as has been observed by this Court in a similar case.

6. Issue notice. The notice is made returnable on 19.01.2023.

7. As Mr. Goswami has appeared and accepted notice on behalf of the respondent State of Assam, no formal notice needs to be issued in respect of the respondent State of Assam. The learned counsel for the petitioner shall service an extra copy of the criminal petition along with annexures, to Mr. Goswami within 3 [three] working days.

8. Having regard to the submissions made on behalf of the petitioner, it is provided that, till the returnable date, the consignment of seized Areca Nuts shall not be destroyed and the same be kept in safe custody.

JUDGE

Comparing Assistant