TMI Blog1990 (5) TMI 233X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the morning of Sunday, September 20, 1987, in the absence of the petitioner. The said raid continued till the early hours of September 21, 1987. During the said raid 562 bags of Mustard Seeds and 267 tins of Mustard Oil, weighing about 39.92 quintals, were seized lor purported infraction of the conditions of the licence as well as the orders issued under Section 3 of the Act. The Investigating Officer filed a written complaint in that behalf at the Behala Police Station which came to be treated as the First Information Report. The report of the seizure of the essential commodity was made to the concerned Collector as required by Section 6A of the Act for initiating confiscation proceedings. On September 27, 1987, a charge-sheet was filed before the learned Special Judge. It may be mentioned that before the submission of the charge-sheet a Writ Petition was filed in the High Court wherein certain interim orders were made with which we are not concerned. Suffice it to say that the said Writ Petition was disposed of by a learned Single Judge of the High Court on February 2, 1988, reserving liberty to the petitioner to apply for release of the seized goods to the Collector before whom ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 'seize' and are, therefore, descriptive of the essential commodity and are not intended to limit the powers of the Collector, argued counsel. He, therefore, submitted that Section 6E confers wide powers on the Collector to release the goods at any stage of the proceedings and the High Court was not justified in placing a narrow construction on the language of the said provision. On the other hand Mr. Kapil Sibal, the learned Additional Solicitor General while supporting the impugned order of the High Court, argued that the power to release conferred by Section 6E on the Collector refers to release in favour of a third party and not the party from whom the essential commodity was seized. According to him if the construction placed on Section 6E on behalf of the petitioner is accepted it would defeat the very purpose of the Act, He, therefore, submitted that this was not a fit case to interfere with the order passed by the Division Bench of the High Court. 5. In order to appreciate the rival view-points we may at the outset examine the scheme of the Act. The Act, as the Preamble reveals, was enacted to provide, in the interest of the general public, for the control of prod ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of such order and the Collector, if satisfied that there has been a contravention of the order, may order confiscation of: (a) the essential commodities so seized; (b) any package, covering or receptacle in which such essential commodity is found; and (c) any animal, vehicle, vessel, or other conveyance used in carrying such essential commodity; Sub-section (2) of the said section empowers the Collector to sell any essential commodity, if the same is subject to speedy and natural decay or it is otherwise expedient so to do in public interest, at the controlled price, if any, fixed therefor or by public auction if no such price is fixed. If the Central or the State Government has fixed the retail sale price of such commodity under the Act or under any other law, the Collector is empowered to order its sale through fair price shops at the price so fixed. Section 6B posits that no order of confiscation of any essential commodity or conveyance, etc., shall be made unless the owner or the person from whom it is seized has been served with a notice informing him of the grounds on which it is proposed to confiscate the same and he has been given reasonable time to make a repre ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d for the forfeiture of any animal, vehicle or other conveyance used in carrying the said essential commodity, if the court so orders. Section 10A makes every offence under the Act cognizable and non-bailable, notwithstanding anything contained in the Code. Section 11 provides that no Court shall take congnizance of any offence punishable under the Act except on a report made by a public servant as defined by Section 21, I.P.C., or any person aggrieved or any recognised consumer association. Section 12A empowers the State Government to constitute by notification as many Special Courts as may be necessary and Section 12AA, which begins with a non-obstante clause-notwithstanding anything contained in the Code-provides that all offences under the Act shall be triable only by the Special Court constituted for the area in which the offence was committed. Section 12AC makes the provisions of the Code (including the provisions as to bail and bonds) applicable to the proceedings before the Special Courts as if it is a Court of Sessions unless the Act provides otherwise. 6. The above resume of the relevant provisions of the Act makes it clear that once an order is made by the Central Gov ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ial commodity etc., is not in lieu of punishment but can be in addition to the penal consequences. It is in this background that we must examine the controversy before us. 7. Section 6A empowers confiscation of the seized essential commodity, the package, covering and receptacle in which the essential commodity was found and the animal, vehicle or other conveyance in which such essential commodity was carried. The words 'may order confiscation' convey that the power is discretionary and not obligatory. Sub-section (2) thereof confers a special power to deal with any essential commodity which, in the opinion of the Collector, is subject to speedy and natural decay or it is otherwise expedient in public interest to be disposed of in the manner indicated therein. Section 6A. therefore, merely confers power of confiscation and not the power of release, disposal, distribution, etc., except to the limited extent permitted by Sub-section (2) thereof. Of course the second proviso to Sub-section (1) of Section 6A permits the grant of an option to pay, in lieu of confiscation of any animal, vehicle, vessel or other conveyance, a fine equal to its market price at the date of seizur ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... system if the retail sale price is fixed for the said commodity. Similar powers can be exercised if the commodity is subject to speedy and natural decay. The obvious purpose of conferring this power on the Collector without waiting for the completion of the confiscation proceedings is to maintain the smooth supplies of essential commodities to the consumer public, avoid artificial shortages, maintain the price line and secure equitable distribution thereof through fair price shops. If such a power was not conferred and if the seized commodity could not be dealt with till the completion of the confiscation proceedings, it would defeat the very object and purpose for which the Act was enacted. By the conferment of this power a duty is cast on the Collector to see that essential commodities are not locked up in proceedings under the Act; artificial scarcity is not created to hike up prices; a close watch is kept on the supplies to the general public; when necessary in public interest the stock of seized commodities is released to combat short supply and in general to ensure the availability of essential commodities at fail prices to the general public. To ensure that this objective o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... term 'property' shall include, 'in the case of property regarding which an offence appears to have been committed, not only such property as has been originally in the possession or under the control of any party, but also any property into or for which the same may have been converted or exchanged, and anything acquired by such conversion or exchange whether immediately or otherwise'. This definition can be invoked in view of Section 2(f) of the Act which is not inconsistent with any provision of the Act. But this submission overlooks the fact that the power conferred by Sub-section (2) of Section 6A to sell the essential commodity has to be exercised in public interest for maintaining the supplies and for securing the equitable distribution of the essential commodity. If the essential commodity is returned to the person from whom it was seized or to the owner thereof, the very objective of the Act would be defeated and the purpose of seizure would be frustrated The seizure has to be effected not for the sake of earning revenue, i.e. the market price of the commodity at the date of seizure, which may be ultimately forfeited, but to prevent hoarding of essential co ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ot to confiscate the same is taken. As the section stands, if the interpretation put by the learned Counsel for the appellant is accepted, it would be permissible to the Collector to return or restore the commodity without imposing any condition, pending confiscation proceedings. We are unable to pursuade ourselves to accept the interpretation placed by Mr. Rao on the word 'release'. The scheme of sections 6A, 6B and 6C makes it clear that after the essential commodity is seized and the same is inspected by the concerned Collector, the latter has to decide, after complying with the procedure set out in Section 6B, whether or not to confiscate the essential commodity. Since the procedure delineated in Section 6B is time consuming, the Collector has been given special power to sell the essential commodity as stated in Sub-section (2) of Section 6A if it is subject to speedy and natural decay or it is expedient in public interest so to do. If the Collector decides not to confiscate the commodity and if no prosecution is launched or contemplated the commodity has to be returned to the owner or person from whom it was seized. If in the meantime it is sold in exercise of power un ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 989, that the only direction given to the Special Judge was to dispose of the pending prosecution within two months. It was further directed that the Special Judge will pass appropriate consequential orders regarding the release of the seized goods. It, therefore, becomes clear that when the subsequent orders were passed on February 13 and 15, 1989, the appellant did not insist on the sale of the seized commodity as per the order of December 8, 1988. The matter came up for hearing on subsequent occasions also but at no time did the appellant press for the implementation of the said order of December 8, 1988. Even after the Special Judge recorded an acquittal and directed return of the goods, the appellant did not seek implementation of the said order. Nor did the appellant move the High Court for the implementation of the said order in the appeal pending against the order of acquital. It is, therefore, too late in the day now to contend that as the order of December 8, 1988 has remained unimplemented we should refuse to grant any relief to the respondent State. 11. For the reasons stated above we see no merit in this appeal and dismiss the same with costs. - - TaxTMI - ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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