Rakesh Kumar Vs State of U.P. and 3 Others — Allahabad HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

Rakesh Kumar Vs State of U.P. and 3 Others — Allahabad HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Application allowed: order dated 05.04.2025 of the Additional Session Judge, Court No.3, Hathras (Criminal Revision No.46 of 2025) set aside; order dated 11.02.2025 of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Hathras approved; opposite party no.3 directed to release truck bearing registration no. RJ-29GA-9633, Chassis no. MEC2976CEJP063053, in favour of the applicant on the terms and conditions of the order dated 11.02.2025 within 15 days.

Issue for consideration

Whether the order dated 05.04.2025 passed by the learned revisional authority could be entertained/sustained when no confiscation proceeding had been initiated by the District Magistrate, including by way of issuing notices to the applicant. +2 more

Court's answer

The specific question whether any confiscation was ever initiated by way of issuing notices to the applicant went unanswered; not a single page of the instructions returned through the learned A.G.A. responded to any averment made by the authority, leaving the A.G.A. unable to confirm that any proceeding had been initiated by the District Magistrate/competent authority by way of issuing notices against the applicant in respect of any confiscation.

Ratio / Principle

The notice dated 07.02.2025 issued by the Additional District Magistrate (Finance/Revenue), Hathras pursuant to section 6B of the Essential Commodities Act was addressed to three persons and did not carry the applicant's name; the finding recorded by the revisional court under its para-8 therefore rested on no valid confiscation notice against the applicant and was perverse.

Key takeaways

The instructions received by the learned A.G.A. appended no specific document showing that notices for confiscation of the vehicle under section 6B of the Essential Commodities Act were ever issued against the applicant.ratio¶11
In the absence of any specific notice issued by the District Magistrate/competent authority assigned under the E.C. Act, the order passed by the learned revisional court was held perverse, and consequently the order dated 11.02.2025 passed by the learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Hathras was held well justified.ratio¶12

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

High Court of Judicature at Allahabad (Saurabh Srivastava, J.; Order Date 14.5.2025; Neutral Citation 2025:AHC:78804) — Application U/S 528 BNSS No. 14461 of 2025, Rakesh Kumar v. State of U.P. & 3 others, arising out of Case Crime No.28 of 2025 under sections 7, 19(C)(ii), 8 of the Fertilizer (Control) Order, 1985 and sections 3/7 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, P.S. Sasni, District Hathras. The applicant sought quashing of the order dated 05.04.2025 passed by the Additional Session Judge, Court No.3, Hathras in Criminal Revision No.46 of 2025 (State of U.P. vs. Rakesh Kumar) and release of the seized truck (registration no. RJ-29-GA-9633 / RJ-29GA-9633, Chassis no. MEC2976CEJP063053) held at P.S. Sasni Kotwali. The Court held that the revisional court's para-8 finding was perverse: the notice dated 07.02.2025 issued by the Additional District Magistrate (Finance/Revenue), Hathras pursuant to section 6B of the Essential Commodities Act named three persons, none of them the applicant, and the A.G.A.'s instructions appended no document showing any confiscation notice against the applicant; indeed no confiscation proceeding had been initiated by the District Magistrate/competent authority at all. Accordingly, the order dated 05.04.2025 was set aside, the order dated 11.02.2025 passed by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Hathras was approved, and opposite party no.3 was directed to release the truck to the applicant on the terms of that order within 15 days.

Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:78804

Court No. - 74

Case :- APPLICATION U/S 528 BNSS No. - 14461 of 2025

Applicant :- Rakesh Kumar Opposite Party :- State Of U.P. And 3 Others Counsel for Applicant :- Neeraj Pandey,Raj Kumar Sharma Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.

Hon'ble Saurabh Srivastava,J.

Heard Sri Raj Kumar Sharma and Sri Neeraj Pandey, learned counsel for applicant and learned A.G.A. for State.

The instant application has been preferred for quashing order dated05.04.2025 passed by learned Additional Session Judge, Court No.3, Hathras in Criminal Revision No.46 of 2025 (State of U.P. vs. Rakesh Kumar) arising out of Case Crime No.28 of 2025, under sections 7, 19(C)(ii), 8 of Fertilizer (Control) Order, 1985 and sections 3/7 of Essential Commodities Act, 1955, P.S. Sasni, District- Hathras. Further prayer has been made to direct the authorities concerned to release the Truck bearing registration no. RJ-29-GA-9633, Chassis no. MEC2976CEJP063053 in favour of applicant.

On earlier occasion vide order dated 29.04.2025, specific instructions were called from learned A.G.A. on his prayer only over the issue that once confiscation proceeding has not been proceeded at the behest of District Magistrate, then under which circumstances the order which is put under challenge passed by learned revisional authority must be entertained by this Court.

In response to specific query, instructions received by learned A.G.A. is taken on record, which is containing more pages than the application preferred at the behest of applicant, but unfortunately specific question whether any confiscation has ever been initiated by way of issuing notices to the applicant has not been answered and not a single page is available in the entire instructions in response of any averment made by the authority who returned with the instructions in pursuance to order dated 29.04.2025 and as such learned A.G.A. is speechless in absence of any specific instructions received that whether any proceeding initiated at the behest of District Magistrate/competent authority by way of issuing notices against the applicant in respect of any confiscation

proceeding in pursuance to truck bearing registration no. RJ-29GA-9633 with chassis no. MEC2976CEJP063053, which still rests with the custody of Police Station- Sasni Kotwali, DistrictHathras.

While challenging order dated 05.04.2025 passed by learned Additional Session Judge, Court No.3, Hathras, learned counsel for applicant submitted that the finding recorded by learned revisional court under para-8 is perverse, since it is apparent from the records available at page-61 in shape of notice dated 07.02.2025 issued by Additional District Magistrate (Finance/Revenue), Hathras, which is not having name of applicant amongst three persons against whom the notices have been issued in pursuance to section 6B of Essential Commodities Act. The provision contained under section 6B of Essential Commodities Act is also stand verified through the instructions received by learned A.G.A. wherein no specific document has been appended which would go to show that the notices should be issued against the applicant in pursuance to confiscation of the vehicle under section 6B of Essential Commodities Act.

In the wake of arguments raised by learned counsel for the applicant as well as the order passed by learned revisional court, which is perverse in the light of absence of any specific notice issued by District Magistrate/competent authority assigned under the E.C. Act and as such order dated 11.02.2025 passed by learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Hathras is well justified.

In view of the aforementioned facts and circumstances and in the light of documents provided in shape of instructions and the documents available with the instant application, order dated 05.04.2025 passed by learned court of Additional Session Judge, Court No.3, Hathras is hereby set-aside and at the same time, order dated 11.02.2025 passed by learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Hathras stands approved. The opposite party no.3 is hereby directed to release the truck bearing registration no. RJ-29GA-9633 with chassis no. MEC2976CEJP063053 in favour of applicant with the terms and conditions mentioned in order dated 11.02.2025 within 15 days from today.

The instant application stands allowed accordingly.

Order Date :- 14.5.2025 Saif

Digitally signed by :- SHAIKH SAIF ABDIN High Court of Judicature at Allahabad