1. The petitioner is the second accused in C.C.No.54 of 2013 on the file of the Judicial Magistrate of the First Class, Mannarkkad. The first accused is an authorised retail distributor of ration articles. The allegation is that on 1.11.2009 the first accused sold 100 litres of kerosene to the petitioner, who purchased it for use other than cooking or illumination. The Sub Inspector of Police, Mannarkkad arrested both of them, seized the kerosene along with the vehicle used for its transportation at 1 in the morning just in front of the shop of the first accused. The Sub Inspector filed final report alleging that they committed the offence under Section 7(1)(a)(ii) read with Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act (for short the Act). In this petition filed under Section 482 Cr.P.C the proceedings in the trial court are sought to be quashed mainly on the grounds that the facts of the case do not attract any offence, and the arrest, seizure and investigation are illegal since the Sub Inspector was not competent to do so.

2. Heard Sri.K.T.Saju, the learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri.Suresh Babu Thomas, the learned Additional State Prosecutor.

3. At the hearing the argument was confined to the contention regarding competency of the police officer.

4. Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act empowers the Central Government to make orders for regulating or prohibiting the production, supply and distribution of essential commodities and trade and commerce in essential commodities for maintaining or increasing supplies of any essential commodities or for securing their equitable distribution and availability at fair prices. In exercise of these powers the Central Government have made the Kerosene (Restriction of Use and Fixation of Ceiling Price) Order 1993 (hereinafter called the Kerosene Order). Clause 3 of the Order runs as follows:

Restriction on use of kerosene oil supplied under public distribution system-(1) No person shall use kerosene oil supplied under the public distribution system for any purpose other than cooking and illumination:

Provided that the Central or State Government may by order permit any person to use kerosene oil for such other purposes as it may specify in that order.

(2) No dealer appointed under the public distribution system or a transporter shall sell, distribute or supply kerosene oil under the public distribution system to any person other than the person to whom the supplies are meant for.

5. The Kerosene Order does not provide for punishment for contravention of the Order. The punishment is provided in Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act. To put it differently, neither the Act, nor the Order has independent existence. They have to be read together; they are complementary. Section 7(1)(a)(ii) of the Act is extracted below:

Penalties-(1) If any person contravenes any Order made under Section 3-

(a) He shall be punishable

(ii) In the case of any other order, with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three months but which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine.

Section 8 of the Act also is relevant:

Any person who attempts to contravene or abets a contravention of any order made under Section 3 of the Act shall be deemed to have contravened that order.

6. Section 10A of the Act makes every offence punishable under it a cognizable offence.

7. Clause 9 of the Kerosene order runs as follows:

Power of entry, search and seizure-(a) An Officer of the Department of Food and Civil Supplies of the Government, not below the rank of an Inspector authorised by such Government and notified by the Central Government or any Officer authorised and notified by the Central Government, or any officer not below the rank of Sales Officer of a Government Oil Company authorised by the Government and notified by the Central Government, may, with a view to ensuring compliance with the provisions of this Order, with such assistance as may be required, for the purpose of the sa