JUDGMENT - 1. These criminal references arise from 19 criminal cases filed by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation against the Nagpur Electric Light and Power Company, limited, hereafter referred to as the Company, for alleged evasion of octroi dues. In alt the cases the Company is accused of offences under Section 152 of the City of Nagpur Corporation Act, 1948, and in some of them under Section 420, Indian Penal Code.

2. On 18-12-1959 the Municipal Corporation filed a list of witnesses to whom summonses were to be issued and the list included the store keeper or the Wardha branch of the Company and the Assistant Accountant of the Company at Nagpur, both of whom were cited only for the production of certain documents and records belonging to the Company. Summonses were accordingly ordered to fee issued by the learned trial Magistrate. The Company then applied to the learned Magistrate for the withdrawal of the summonses or the ground that they violated the protection against self-incrimination guaranteed by Article 20(3) of the Constitution. The objection having been overruled by the learned trial Magistrate, the Company went in revision to the Sessions Court, Nagpur, and the learned

Click Here to Read the rest of this document