JUDGMENT :

Valmiki Sa Menezes, J.

By these two criminal applications, the applicants seek to invoke this Court’s inherent power under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, seeking to quash the First Information Report (FIR) No.1203 of 2021 dated 23.12.2021, registered with Khadan Police Station, District Akola and connected Final Report dated 04.10.2022 in RCC No.1242 of 2022.

The Final Report alleges offences against the applicants under Sections 188, 285 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, under Sections 3 and 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, under Sections 3 and 4 read with Section 23 of the Petroleum Act, 1934 and under the Motor Spirit and High Diesel (Regulation of Supply, Distribution and Prevention of Malpractice) Order 2005 and Amendment Order 2017. The sole applicant in Criminal Application (APL) No.555 of 2022 is alleged to be the owner of the seized product purporting to be bio-diesel or a petroleum product and is alleged to have illegally sold this product, which is subject matter of the seizure conducted pursuant to lodging of the FIR. The three applicants in Criminal Application (APL) No.695 of 2022 are daily wagers and driver of a tanker in which the said product was stored. For the purpose of decision in this matter, we refer to the record in Criminal Application (APL) No.555 of 2022, which is filed at the behest of applicant Abhay Anup Rathi, since the record is common to the other criminal application bearing No.695 of 2022.

2. The facts, as stated in the application and as culled out from the record of the FIR and from the Final Report, that have led to the filing of these two applications under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, are as under :

(a) It is the applicant’s case that he is in the business of supply of Hydrocarbon Oil for Industrial use, for which purpose he owned two tankers and would operate his business from a land belonging to one Prasanna Tapadia, where the raid/seizure was carried out by the complainant. It is further the applicant’s case that the concerned hydrocarbon oil was imported into India from U.A.E., through Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust Airport (JNPT) at Nava Sewa along with its invoice, and after obtaining requisite test report and clearing customs, the imported hydrocarbon oil was moved to K. M. Enterprises, Raigad in Konkan area, which has in turn supplied the same to the applicant after payment of all the necessary taxes under an invoice and E-way bills. The applicant claims that the seized product is neither bio-diesel nor a petroleum product, which is prohibited for retail sale and is meant only for Industrial use.

(b) The FIR dated 23.12.2021, was registered against the applicants Rohan, Sheikh and Javed at 02:31 hours under Sections 3 and 7 of the Essential Commodities Act (hereinafter referred to as “the EC Act”) and under Sections 188, 285 read with 34 of the IPC at the behest of one Nitin Bhimrao Chawhan, the Assistant Police Inspector posted at Local Crime Branch Office, Akola; the allegations in the FIR are that on receiving secret information on 22.12.2021, that the applicant Abhay Rathi was storing bio diesel, a prohibited product, in two tankers, at a Paddy field along the Malkapur - Yevta Road at Akola, the complainant proceeded to the spot with Panchas and other Police personal for conducting a raid and found the said Rohan, Sheikh and Javed unloading the said product from the trucks. That, since these persons nor the applicants were in possession of any licence of sale of bio diesel or petroleum products, he seized the three tankers bearing Nos.MH-30-L-1751, MH-30-L-2087 and MH-46-BM-2331 loaded with this product in the presence of the Panchas. Thereafter, nine samples of the product i.e. three samples each of 750 ml from each truck were drawn, sealed under Panchanama and sent by the complainant for chemical anal