The main legal point established in the judgment is that the unauthorized possession of gas cylinders constitutes a non-bailable offence under the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Regulation of Supply and Distribution) Order 2000 and the Essential Commodities Act.

1. Petitioner is the accused in Crime No.526/2013 of Adoor Police Station registered for the offences punishable under section 3(1) (c) of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Regulation of Supply and Distribution) Order 2000 and Section 6 and 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, for short the Act. He has filed the above application seeking anticipatory bail under section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, for short the Code.

2. Allegation is that petitioner who is conducting a hotel had kept in his possession nine empty gas cylinders, five of them ear marked for domestic purposes and the rest,four of them, for commercial purposes, in a building where employees of his hotel were accommodated. Storage of the above cylinders without authority in such premises was detected by Taluk Supply Officer on 24.7.2012, who seized them into custody. Proceedings were initiated under the Act by the District Collector, who, after hearing the petitioner, ordered confiscation of the gas cylinders and handing over them to an Oil company. District Collector also ordered for initiating prosecution proceedings against petitioner, and thereupon crime was registered against petitioner for the offences stated supra, and, it is now under investigation.

3. Learned counsel for petitioner submitted that previously he had challenged orders issued by Sub Divisional Magistrate fixing price of food articles sold in hotels during Sabarimala season. Hoteliers including petitioner were directed by that executive authority put up a board in the hotel publishing the price list of food articles as fixed, and also sell food articles only at the rate fixed. Challenge raised by petitioner and similarly placed hoteliers against such Orders before this court has been upheld holding that hoteliers cannot be compelled to adhere to the price list nor publish such price list in hotels as directed by the executive authority. More than once petitioner had resisted attempts by the executive authorities to enforce price of food items fixed by them, and, therefore, the present proceedings under the Act were initiated against him on detection of some empty gas cylinders in a building where employees of his hotel were accommodated. In fact previous owner of the hotel had kept them there and the gas cylinders so kept are rusted and out of use, is the submission of counsel. Crime was registered on the Orders issued by District Collector, alleging that the empty gas cylinders had been seized from the hotel premises whereas it was seized from a different place. In the Order passed by District Collector also, copy of which is produced as Annexure A11, learned counsel submits confiscation of cylinders was ordered with direction to prosecute petitioner forming a wrong conclusion that the empty gas cylinders were kept unauthorisedly in his hotel. Learned counsel adverted to the deletion of the words “and non-bailable” in section 10A of the Act inviting my attention to a decision rendered by Madhya Pradesh High Court in Dinesh Kumar Dubey and another v. State of M.P.(2001 KHC 2098). Learned counsel fairly conceded that the view taken in the above decision that offences under the Act are bailable on account of the deletion of the words'and non bailable' in section 10A of the Act cannot be accepted as correct. However, it is submitted, the deletion of the above words 'and non bailable' in Section 10 A of the Act has to be given consideration in examining the request of petitioner, for granting him the discretionary relief of pre-arrest bail.

4. I heard learned Public Prosecutor also, who made available the Case Diary for my perusal. Investigation of the crime is continuing and the offences under the Act have to be viewed seriously is stressed upon by learned Public Prosecutor to oppose the application.

5. Normally, an offender proceeded under the Act for a non bailable offence thereunder in the absence of showing that there is reasonable ground to presume his innocence cannot be extend