Sanjay Kumar vs The State Of Bihar
2023 Latest Caselaw 3769 Patna

         IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                   Criminal Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 548 of 2021
         Arising Out of PS. Case No.-24 Year-2019 Thana- DULHIN BAZAR District- Patna
     ======================================================

1. SANJAY KUMAR Son of Ishvar Dayal Singh @ Rajeshwar Singh Resident of Village - Neema, Police Station - Goh, District - Aurangabad.

2. Ajeet Singh Son of Arbind Singh Resident of Village - Mannu Bigha, Police Station - Haspur, District - Aurangabad.

... ... Petitioner/s Versus

1. THE STATE OF BIHAR

2. The Director General of Police, Bihar, Patna. Bihar

3. The Senior Superintendent of Police, Patna. BIhar

4. The S.H.O. Dulhin Bazar Police Station, District - Patna. Bihar

... ... Respondent/s ====================================================== Appearance :

     For the Petitioner/s    :        Mr.Dr. Manoj Kumar
     For the Respondent/s    :        Mr. M. Nasrul Huda Khan

====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ANIL KUMAR SINHA

JUDGMENT AND ORDER C.A.V.

Date : 17-08-2023

The petitioners have filed the present writ application,

challenging the order, dated 01-04-2019, passed by the learned 3rd

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Danapur, in Dulhin Bazar

Police Station Case No.24 of 2019, order, dated 15-7-2019, passed

by the learned 6th Additional sessions Judge Danapur, in Criminal

Revision No. 231 of 2019 and the order, dated 22-12-2020, passed

by the Judicial Magistrate, 1st class, Danapur in Dulhin Bazar

Police Station Case No. 24 of 2019, registered for the offences

punishable under Sections 414/420/467/471 of the Indian Penal Patna High Court CR. WJC No. 548 of 2021 dt.17-08-2023

Code and Section 11(1)(D) of the Prevention of Animal Cruelty

Act. The petitioners have further prayed for a direction to the

respondents to release the seized cattle and their calves in their

favour.

2. The brief facts, giving rise to present writ application,

is that on 31-01-2019, the Assistant Sub Inspector of Police,

Dulhin Bazar Police Station, submitted a report to the Station

House Officer, Dulhin Bazar Police Station, stating therein that

during vehicle checking, near Ullar More, he stopped a white-

coloured pick-up van, bearing registration no. BR-01GC/1341.

After checking the van, he found three buffaloes and three calves

in bad, suffocating and unconscious condition. On interrogation,

the driver of the said vehicle, Manoj Kumar, and two other

persons, who were also sitting in the said van, told that the cattle

were purchased from Ainkhan Mela, popularly called as Kasim

Chak Weekly Cattle Fair of Nagendra Sardar and further said that

two of the cattle were purchased for Rs.35,051/- and Rs.24,800/-.

One of the accused, namely, Arvind Singh, handed over two

yellow coloured receipts, bearing receipt no. 141 and receipt no.

101, showing purchase of two cattle from the said fair. The Pick-

up van along with baffoloes and calves were seized by the

informant and seizure list, to this effect, was prepared. Upon the Patna High Court CR. WJC No. 548 of 2021 dt.17-08-2023

said report, Dulhin Bazar Police Station Case No. 24 of 2019 was

registered.

3. Learned Counsel for the petitioners submits that

learned District Courts have failed to appreciate that the petitioners

are the bona fide purchases of the cattle from the cattle fair and are

the real owner of the seized cattle, which were seized while

returning from the cattle fair, by the police without any fault on

their part.

4. Learned Counsel further submits that the application

for release of the seized cattle before the learned 3 rd Additional

Chief Judicial Magistrate, Danapur, was rejected by order, dated

01-04-2019, on the ground that the petitioners have not produced

any material document and have failed to show any documentary

evidence in their favour for release of the cattle.

5. Learned Counsel further submits that the revision

application preferred against the aforesaid order was also

dismissed on the ground of ownership inasmuch as the courts have

found that the receipts do not bear any signature of seller and

registration number of the fair is also missing in the said receipts.

6. Learned Counsel further submits that a further attempt

by the petitioners for release of the cattle in there favour also failed Patna High Court CR. WJC No. 548 of 2021 dt.17-08-2023

when learned Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Danapur, rejected

the prayer of the petitioners vide order dated 22-12-2020.

7. Learned Counsel next submits that all the District

Courts committed serious error by arriving at the conclusion that

the token receipt nos. 101 and 141 are not genuine inasmuch as the

person, who has put his signature on the receipts, has sworn an

affidavit, stating therein that he has been working as an agent for

the cattle fair, duly appointed by the owner of the cattle fair. The

affidavit of the selling agent has been annexed as Annexure 5 to

this writ application. He further submits that the seized cattle are

not stolen, but have duly been purchased for a valuable

consideration from the cattle fair and the seized cattle are the

source of livelihood of the petitioners.

8. A counter affidavit has been filed on behalf of the

State respondents stating therein that the Police Officer are not the

competent authority to release the cattle and calves, more so, the

prayer of the petitioners has been rejected by the District Courts on

three occasions.

9. A report was called for from the Station House

Officer, Dulhin Bazar Police Station, and the same was submitted

vide memo no.1246/23, dated 18-07-2023 (Annexure-A).

According to the report, the Investigating Officer entrusted the Patna High Court CR. WJC No. 548 of 2021 dt.17-08-2023

seized cattle under the jimmenama to Bindu Devi, Sanjay Yadav

and Chowkidar Brijnandan Paswan. The case has been found true

during the investigation and charge sheet has been submitted on

09-03-2020 against five accused persons. During investigation, it

has come to light that one buffalo and one calf given to Bindu

Devi died on 21-03-2019. Similarly, one buffalo and one calf

given to Sanjay Yadav also died due to illness. However, post-

mortem of the two buffaloes and one calf was conducted; but post-

mortem of one dead calf, which was in the jimmenama of one

Sanjay Yadav was not carried out. Now, only one buffalo and one

calf is surviving, which was given to Chowkidar Brijnandan

Paswan.

10. Learned Counsel for the state reiterates the statement

made in the counter affidavit in course of his argument.

11. I have heard counsel for the parties concerned and

have gone through the materials available on records.

12. From the First Information Report and the seizure

list, it appears that signature of petitioner no.1 is there on the

seizure list, meaning thereby the cattle were seized from the

custody of the petitioner no. 1. The police authority has also seized

token receipts from the possession of petitioner no.1. It is the

specific case of the petitioners that after purchase of the cattle for Patna High Court CR. WJC No. 548 of 2021 dt.17-08-2023

the valuable consideration, the petitioners were transporting the

cattle on the pick-up van to their home. The affidavit of the selling

agent of the cattle fair also supports the claim of the petitioners

that they are bona fide purchasers of the cattle.

13. From the counter affidavit, it appears that by natural

process, two buffaloes and two calves have died in police custody,

for which post-mortem has also been done.

14. Nobody has control upon the natural death and it is

not the case of the petitioners that the cattle died due to the

negligence and/or atrocities/cruelty made to them by the police or

the persons under whose jiminama the cattle were kept.

15. In order to save the serviving cattle and calf from

any further damage and/or death, in my opinion, it is expedient

and in the interest of justice to release the said cattle and calf in

favour of the petitioners.

16. Accordingly, the order, dated 01-04-2019, passed by

the learned 3rd Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Danapur, in

Dulhin Bazar Police Station Case No.24 of 2019, the order, dated

15-7-2019, passed by the learned 6th Additional sessions Judge

Danapur, in Criminal Revision No. 231 of 2019 and the order,

dated 22-12-2020, passed by the Judicial Magistrate, 1st class,

Danapur in Dulhin Bazar Police Station Case No. 24 of 2019, are Patna High Court CR. WJC No. 548 of 2021 dt.17-08-2023

hereby set aside and the learned District Court is directed to

release the cattle, in question, in favour of the petitioners within a

period of two weeks from the date of receipt/production of a copy

of this order, subject to the following conditions:-

(1) That the petitioners shall furnish sureties of Rs.

10,000/- to the satisfaction of the learned District Court;

(2) That before handing over the cattle to the petitioners,

a detailed and proper Punchnama of the said cattle, after taking its

photograph, shall be prepared;

(3) That the petitioners shall also execute bond that the

cattle, in question, shall be produced as and when required.

17. With the aforesaid directions and observations, this

application is allowed.

18. There shall be no order as to costs.

(Anil Kumar Sinha, J.) Prabhakar Anand/-

AFR/NAFR                         NAFR
CAV DATE                      01-08-2023
Uploading Date                17-08-2023
Transmission Date             17-08-2023