1. By this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India read with section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as “the Code”), the petitioner seeks quashing of the first information report registered vide Sanand Police Station, Ahmedabad (Rural) II – C.R. No.56/2003 as well as Criminal Case No.871 of 2003 arising out of the said first information report pending before the learned Judicial Magistrate First Class, Sanand.
2. The respondent No.2 herein lodged the above referred first information report against other co-accused alleging commission of the offences punishable under sections 3 and 7 of the Essential Commodities Act and sections 464, 467 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code. Subsequently, investigation was carried out by the concerned Police Inspector of LCB, Ahmedabad (Rural). Upon completion of investigation, charge- sheet came to be filed by the respondent No.2 before the competent court on 15.8.2003. It appears that during the course of investigation the name of the petitioner came to be added as one of the accused, and accordingly, in the charge- sheet counter, the petitioner has been shown as accused No.10. Pursuant to the submission of the charge-sheet, it appears that the court has taken cognizance of the offence and the same has been registered as Criminal Case No.871 of 2003 and is pending in the Court of the learned J.M.F.C., Sanand.
3. Mr. H. R. Prajapati, learned advocate for the petitioner submitted that in the present case, the search and seizure came to be carried out by the respondent No.2 and the entire investigation was conducted by the respondent No.2 who had also filed the charge-sheet before the concerned court. Attention was invited to the provisions of clause (4) of the Solvent, Raffinate and Slop (Acquisition, Sale and Prevention of Use in Automobiles) Order, 2000 (hereinafter referred to as “the Order”), to submit that under the said provision, the investigation is required to be carried out by a Police Officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police, duly authorized by a general or special order in this regard by the Central or the State Government. It was submitted that in the present case, the investigation has been carried out by the second respondent as well as by the Police Sub-Inspector, LCB, Ahmedabad (Rural). Under the circumstances, the entire proceedings stand vitiated right from the inception. In support of his submissions, the learned advocate placed reliance upon the decision of this Court in the case of Rushabh Gayaprasad Jain v. State of Gujarat rendered on 26.3.2009 in Special Criminal Application No.1230 of 2003 and other cognate matters wherein in matters arising out of the very same first information report in relation to which the present petition has been filed, this court had quashed the proceedings on the ground that the investigation had been carried out by an officer below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police, and the procedure of search and seizure subsequently were carried out by an officer not having the authority under clause (4) of the Order. It was, accordingly, urged that the present case is squarely covered by the said decision which arises out of the same first information report and therefore, the first information report is required to be quashed qua the petitioner also.
4. Opposing the present petition, Mr. K. P. Raval, learned Additional Public Prosecutor placed reliance on the affidavit in reply filed by the District Supply Officer (D.S.O.), Ahmedabad on behalf of the respondent No.1 – State of Gujarat, in Special Criminal Application No.1182 of 2009, wherein it has, inter alia, been stated that on 16.6.2003, he was holding the post of District Supply Officer (DSO), Class-I Gazetted Officer and that the procedure of search and seizure had taken place in his presence. It is further stated in the said affidavit that on 16.6.2003, he was informed by the concerned officer that the tanker was found to be unauthorisedly transporting stock of solvent without holding pass/permit and that the panchnama pertaining to procedure of search and seizure and sample had taken place at his instance and in his presence. It is further averred that the seizure order pertaining to the panchnama of procedure of search and seizure had been signed by him as District Supply Officer. The learned Additional Public Prosecutor, accordingly, submitted that clause (4) empowers any gazetted officer of the Central or State Government or police officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police to carry out search and seizure procedure. In the facts of the present case, the District Supply Officer being a gazetted officer and duly empowered under clause (4) of the Order, was present during the course of search and seizure proceedings and as such, there is due compliance with the provisions of clause (4) of the Order, hence, the proceedings have been duly instituted in accordance with law and there is no warrant for intervention by this court.
5. A perusal of the first information report shows that the search and seizure have been carried out by the first respondent, that is, Police Sub-Inspector, LCB, Ahmedabad (Rural). The tanker in question had been stopped by the concerned officer and the search thereof came to be carried out by him along with other police officers and the same came to be seized along with the solvent contained therein by him by drawing a panchnama as recorded in the first information report. Insofar as the panchnama drawn by the District Supply Officer is concerned, the same appears to have been carried out at the premises of M/s Dev Industry, Nidhrad, Taluka Sanand, and subsequently after the tanker along with solvent came to be seized by the police officer, it appears that the District Supply Officer has passed the seizure order in respect of the same and has ordered that the same be taken in the custody of the State Government. However, from the allegations contained in the first information report read with the above referred panchnama and the seizure report, it is apparent that the entire search and seizure procedure had been carried out by the first informant and not by the District Supply Officer, as is sought to be contended in the affidavit in-reply. It is an undisputed position that the police officer who had carried out the search and seizure proceedings was an officer below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police and, as such, was not authorized to carry out such search and seizure under the said Order.
6. This court in an unreported decision in the case Roshan Sharma, Manager v. State of Gujarat rendered on 21.4.2003 in Criminal Miscellaneous Application No.5317 of 2002 and allied matters, has held thus:
“So, as regards Naphtha and Solvent Orders, the investigation can be undertaken only by an officer, not below the rank of a Dy.S.P.. In the present case, the action has not proceeded in accordance with law as regards Naphtha and hence the said proceeding is required to be quashed and set aside. It is also required to be considered that when the Police Inspector had no power to undertake any seizure with respect to Naphtha and Solvent, the entire proceedings, including the FIR and investigation into the matter pursuant to the seizure and FIR, will be required to be quashed and set aside. This would mean that even the offence under IPC or any other enactment, arising out from the seizure of Naphtha, its chemical analysis and outcome thereof, will also be required to be quashed and set aside, meaning thereby, that the investigation cannot proceed further, even with respect to IPC offence or other related offences arising from the seizure of Naphtha, its analysis and the outcome of the analysis.”
7. Applying the aforesaid decision to the facts of the present case, it is apparent that the respondent No.2 had no power to undertake any seizure with respect to Naphtha and Solvent and accordingly, the entire proceedings including the first information report and investigation into the matter pursuant to the seizure of the first information report would stand vitiated. As held by this court in the above referred decision, even the offence under the Indian Penal Code or any other enactment, arising out from the seizure of Naphtha, its chemical analysis and outcome thereof will also be required to be quashed and set aside.
8. The above referred decision has been followed by this court in the case of Rushabh Gayaprasad Jain v. State of Gujarat (supra).
9. In the light of the aforesaid discussion, it is apparent that the entire proceeding under clause (4) of the Order stands vitiated as having been carried out by an officer who was not duly empowered to do so. In the light of the aforesaid decisions of this court, the entire proceedings from the lodging of the first information report to the filing of the charge-sheet as well as cognizance of the offence taken by the learned Magistrate stand vitiated as being without any authority of law.
10. For the foregoing reasons, the petition succeeds and is, accordingly, allowed. The first information report registered vide Sanand Police Station, Ahmedabad (Rural) II – C.R. No.56/2003 as well as the proceedings of Criminal Case No.871 of 2003 pending before the learned Judicial Magistrate First Class, Sanand, are hereby quashed and set aside. Rule is made absolute accordingly.
[HARSHA DEVANI, J.] parmar*