ORDER

1. Leave granted in all the above-said Special Leave Petitions.

2. We have seven appeals before us in which the parties are similar. Since all these appeals arise out of common judgments and orders dated 25.01.2007 and 19.02.2007 passed by a learned Single Judge of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana in Criminal Appeal No. 1410-SBA of 2002, Criminal Appeal No. 1411-SBA of 2002, Criminal Appeal No. 1412-SBA of 2002, Criminal Appeal No. 1413-SBA of 2002, Criminal Appeal No. 1433-SBA of 2002, Criminal Misc. Petition No.29090-M of 2001 and Criminal Misc. Petition No.36987-M of 2001. As similar questions of facts and law are involved, therefore, for the sake of convenience they are being heard together and disposed of by this common judgment.

3. Brief facts, which led to the trial of the appellant, are as follows:-

Jagdish Chand - respondent herein and his wife Smt. Ramesh Rani are the proprietors of M/s Mehra Export Corporation and M/s Mehra International, Katra Hari Singh, Amritsar. The firms deal in saffron, herbs and other like goods. M/s Sudhir Kumar Bhalla and Brothers, 25, Green Park, Ludhiana, of which Sudhir Kumar Bhalla - appellant herein is one of the partners, has been