Aishwarya Rathore –
Published on: September 3, 2021, at 13:15 IST
The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court ruled that unless a Notification under Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act Prohibiting Illegal Sale and Possession of Diesel is recorded, the Petitioner can not be found guilty under Section 7 of the Act.
The petitioner was accused of engaging in the illegal sale of diesel on May 31, 2008, when five plastic gallons containing about 100 litres of diesel were discovered in his Karyana shop.
After completion of the investigation, the Investigating Officer found the petitioner guilty of violating Sections 3 and 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, and a challan was filed.
The petitioner was acquitted of the said offences in 2011 since the Investigating Officer failed to record any Notification or Order under Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act.
Later, the Revisional Court overruled the Order and ordered the Trial Court to frame charges against the petitioner.
The Bench found that the said Notification was neither submitted before the Trial Court nor before the Revisional Court and that no such notification purporting to be issued under Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act was placed on record before it.
In Prakash Babu Raghuvanshi v. State of Madhya Pradesh, the Supreme Court held that the Investigating Officer was required to place on record a valid Notification before initiating prosecution under Section 3 and 7 of the said Act.
Accordingly, the Order passed by the Trial Court was upheld and the Order passed by the Revisional Court was set aside.
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