The main legal point established is that the police have the power to investigate offences under the Essential Commodities Act, and the search and seizure conducted by the police must comply with the relevant provisions.

N. D. VENKATESH, J.

( 1 ) THIS revision is by the state. It is directed against the order dated 21-7-1983 of the JMFC, Chintamani in C C. 337 and 338/81 on his file. By that order he has discharged the respondent who was the accused in the case.

( 2 ) THE court below had initiated the said proceeding against the respondent on the report (charge sheet) laid by the Chintamani Police against him with the allegation that in his dealings in edible oil seeds he had violated the provisions of the Karnataka Edible Oil- seeds Dealers Licensing Order, 1977 (the order) and thereby had committed an offence punishable under S 7 of the essential Commodities Act, 1955 (E. G. Act ).

( 3 ) THE court below has discharged the accused mainly on two grounds. The first ground is that the police had no powers to investigate into any alleged offence under the Act at all and that power is only vested in the officers authorised by the State Government under clause 17 of the Order. The second ground is, that even otherwise, in the matter of the search and seizure of the essential commodity in question, the c. P C. had not complied with Sec. 165 and the other relevant provisions of the cr P. C. , and therefore the investigation was vitiated and consequently the very proceeding was vitiated.

( 4 ) THE learned State Public Prosecutor challenging the impugned order argued that the court below had wholly misconstrued the provisions of the Act and had committed a grave error in discharging the accused. He places strong reliance on a decision of the Supreme court in Safya Narain Musadi and ors. v state of Bihar (AIR 1980 SC 506) in support of his contention that the police had powers to investigate into an offence of this nature and place their report in the court. The learned counsel for the accused, on the other hand, supported the order of the court below and places reliance on K. L. Subbayya v State of karnataka 1979 (1) Kar. L. J. , 410. and state of Rajasthan v Rehman AIR 1960 sc 210 in support of the second ground relied upon by the court below.

( 5 ) ACCORDING to me the order of the court below discharging the accused is wholly unsustainable and deserves to be quashed. In its view that the police had no powers to investigate into an offence of this nature, there is absolutely no merit. Sec. 10a of the E. G. Act makes every offence punishable under the Act a cognizable one and cognizable within the meaning assigned to that term in the code of Criminal Procedure 1973 (see also Sec. 2 (ia) and (f) incorporated into the Act by Sec. 3 of the Essential Commodities (Special Provisions) Act, 1981 ). As observed by the Supreme Court in satya Narain Musadi's case (AIR 1980 SC 506) a report submitted by the police after investigating into an offence arising under the Act satisfies the requirements of Sec. 11 of the Act and the Court can take cognizance of the offences alleged in such report There is also no merit in the contention of the counsel for the respondent-accused that in view of Rule 17 of the Rules, the police were precluded from investigating into any offence for alleged violation of the provisions of the order. Clause (17) of the Order only enables the officials named therein also to investigate into alleged violations of the provisions of the order, but thereby it cannot be said that that provision has taken away the powers of the police in that behalf. Clause (17) reads thus : 17. Powers of entry, search, seizure, etc:- (1) The licensing authority or any other officer authorised by the state Government in this behalf may, with a view to securing compliance with this order or to satisfying himself that the provisions of this order have not been contravened- (A) require the owner, occupier or any other person in charge of any place, premises, vehicle, or vessel in which he has reason to believe that any contravendon of the provisions of this order or the conditions of any licence issued thereunder has been, or is about to be committed, to produce any

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