Premji @ Premchand Prasad vs The State Of Bihar
2021 Latest Caselaw 4085 Patna

      IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                 CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.14571 of 2021
    Arising Out of PS. Case No.-316 Year-2020 Thana- BIHARSHARIF District- Nalanda
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Premji @ Premchand Prasad, aged about 72 years, Male, son of late Mahavir Saw, resident of Mohalla - Baingnabad, P.S. Bihar, District - Nalanda.

... ... Petitioner/s

Versus

The State of Bihar ... ... Opposite Party/s ====================================================== Appearance :

For the Petitioner/s : Mr. N K Agrawal, Senior Advocate with Ms. Preety Kunwar, Advocate For the State : Mr. Damodar Prasad Tiwary, APP ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE AHSANUDDIN AMANULLAH ORAL JUDGMENT Date : 13-08-2021

The matter has been heard via video conferencing.

2. Heard Mr. N K Agrawal, learned senior counsel

along with Ms. Preety Kunwar, learned counsel for the

petitioner and Mr. Damodar Prasad Tiwary, learned Additional

Public Prosecutor (hereinafter referred to as the 'APP') for the

State.

3. The petitioner apprehends arrest in connection with

Bihar PS Case No. 316 of 2020 dated 10.05.2020, instituted

under Sections 420, 406, 467, 468, 471, 188, 269, 276, 271/34

of the Indian Penal Code, 51-B, 57 of the Disaster Management

Act, 2005, and 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.

4. The allegation against the petitioner is that out of

the food-grains which were seized by the police from a pickup Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.14571 of 2021 dt.13-08-2021

van, 15 bags of wheat and 5 bags of rice were loaded from his

shop and it was suspected that the food-grains were of public

distribution scheme and were being taken for black marketing.

5. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that as

per the FIR itself the only allegation is that 15 bags of wheat

and 5 bags of rice were loaded from his shop, that too, in plastic

bags without any seal or identification of the public distribution

scheme. It was submitted that the petitioner is a petty dealer in

free sale food-grains and does not have any licence, either under

the public distribution scheme or for any subsidized sale of

food-grains from the government. It was submitted that the sale

of food-grains has been made free which would be clear from

GSR 104 (E) dated 15.02.2002 for Removal of (Licensing

Requirements, Stock Limits and Movement Restrictions) on

Specified Foodstuffs Order, 2002, published in the gazette of

India dated 15.02.2002 (copy annexed as Annexure-2), which

stipulates that with the coming into effect of the Order, any

dealer may freely buy, stock, sell, transport, distribute, dispose,

acquire, use or consume any quantity of wheat paddy/rice,

coarse grains, sugar, edible oilseeds and edible oils and shall not

require a permit or license therefor under any order issued under

the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. Thus, it was contended Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.14571 of 2021 dt.13-08-2021

that even if it is assumed that the food-grains were loaded from

the shop of the petitioner, there being nothing to indicate that the

said food-grains were for any government scheme and the

aforesaid Control Order not requiring any permission either to

sell or to transport, as far as the petitioner is concerned, no

offence, much less, any criminal offence can be attributed to the

petitioner. It was submitted that the petitioner has a good

reputation and has no other criminal antecedent.

6. Learned APP submitted that as per the statement of

the driver of the pickup van which was seized, from the

petitioner's shop the said food-grains were loaded and also some

food-grains from the house of a PDS dealer. However, it was not

controverted that the food-grains which were loaded from the

shop of the petitioner were in plastic bags without any mark of

any government department or scheme and further, that the

food-grains loaded from the petitioner's shop were separate

from those loaded from the house of a PDS dealer.

7. Having considered the facts and circumstances of

the case and submissions of learned counsel for the parties, in

view of the above referred Control Order which does not place

any restriction on any dealer to deal in food-grains including its

storage and transportation, as also there being no allegation that Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.14571 of 2021 dt.13-08-2021

the food-grains bore any sign or mark that they were meant for

any government scheme and also the petitioner having no other

criminal antecedent, the Court is inclined to allow the prayer for

pre-arrest bail.

8. Accordingly, in the event of arrest or surrender

before the Court below within six weeks from today, the

petitioner be released on bail upon furnishing bail bonds of Rs.

25,000/- (twenty five thousand) with two sureties of the like

amount each to the satisfaction of the learned Sub Divisional

Judicial Magistrate, Nalanda, in Bihar PS Case No. 316 of 2020,

subject to the conditions laid down in Section 438(2) of the

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and further (i) that one of the

bailors shall be a close relative of the petitioner, (ii) that the

petitioner and the bailors shall execute bond with regard to good

behaviour of the petitioner, and (iii) that the petitioner shall also

give an undertaking to the Court that he shall not indulge in any

illegal/criminal activity, act in violation of any law/statutory

provisions, tamper with the evidence or influence the witnesses.

Any violation of the terms and conditions of the bonds or the

undertaking shall lead to cancellation of his bail bonds. The

petitioner shall cooperate in the case and be present before the

Court on each and every date. Failure to cooperate or being Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.14571 of 2021 dt.13-08-2021

absent on two consecutive dates, without sufficient cause, shall

also lead to cancellation of his bail bonds.

9. It shall also be open for the prosecution to bring

any violation of the foregoing conditions of bail by the

petitioner, to the notice of the Court concerned, which shall take

immediate action on the same after giving opportunity of

hearing to the petitioner.

                       10.    The     petition     stands     disposed         of   in   the

            aforementioned terms.


                                            (Ahsanuddin Amanullah, J)

J. Alam/-

AFR/NAFR
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