ORDER :

1. These six criminal misc. petitions have been filed assailing action of Police of the Police Station, Bhiwadi alleging that an illegal and ill-motivated raid was conducted in the premises of factory of the Golden Bottling Company, Bhiwadi which is engaged in manufacturing and bottling Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) as well as Country Liquor in terms of the license issued to it by the Rajasthan Excise Department.

It is further alleged that without there being any complaint from any other person an FIR bearing No. 615/2020 was registered by the SHO at his own on 12.10.2020 wherein he stated that while he was on patrolling duty in the area on 11.10.2020, he received information through an informant at 12.55 PM that in the garb of producing/manufacturing Country Liquor, manufacturing of IMFL was being done in the factory premises and at 1.20 PM when the SHO, Police Station, Bhiwadi reached the Women Police Station, Bhiwadi, he was informed that one Sub-Inspector from Gujarat Police with his team wanted assistance to some licit information from the Golden Bottling Company, Bhiwadi. In the aforesaid background, a search party was constituted and a raid on the factory premises of the aforesaid bottling company was conducted at 1.30 PM on 11.10.2020. During the course of search/raid, the Excise Officer joined the proceedings. The FIR was registered by the SHO, Bhiwadi mentioning that the Company does not have any license for IMFL and it was alleged that the workers in the Company informed that under the guise of country made liquor license, different brands of liquor were being manufactured without authority and were being smuggled to Bihar and Gujarat. Total 10077 cartoons were seized from the factory which included 1200 cartoons loaded in the vehicle.

It was also mentioned in the FIR that empty cartoons were lying in the factory premises and the cartoons wherein the liquor was packed did not contain warning of liquor being dangerous for health and without putting batch numbers and without paying the excise revenue, the liquor was being manufactured so that it may be smuggled to Gujarat and Bihar and in such a way, the SHO registered the aforesaid FIR against the owners of the Company as well as its employees under Section 308 IPC, Sections 14, 16, 19 and 54 of the Rajasthan Excise Act, 1950.

At the same time, the Excise Officer, who had accompanied the Police, on the other hand, registered an FIR against the Company and its owners under Section 58C of the Rajasthan Excise Act, 1950 alleging that the work was being done in the night and there was violation of conditions of license. The offence under Section 58C of the Excise Act is punishable with fine alone to the maximum of Rs. 5000/-

On the same day, the Excise Officer registered FIR under Section 58(C) of the Rajasthan Excise Act, 1950.

The Petitioner - Mr. Surendra Solanki, who was the major share holder, was arrested from his house in Delhi at about 4.00 pm on 12.10.2020 after breaking of the door of his house and was brought to Bhiwadi where he was shown to have been arrested at 10.00 PM at Bhiwadi. It is alleged that no notice under Section 41 Cr.P.C. was served on him before arresting him.

Petitioner - Ashok Solanki, who is father of Surendra Solanki has also filed a petition submitting that the police entered the premises and sought to arrest him also.

Petitioner - Puneet Solanki has preferred petition stating that he is not connected with the Company and neither he is employee nor the signing authority nor holding any post in the Company but he was also made an accused in the FIR.

Two trucks, which were parked in the factory, were also seized. A computer, CPU and the accounts of the factory were also seized alongwith DVR and CCTVs.

Petitioners - Mr. Pradeep Mishra and Mr. Abhishek Kharb, who are employees of the Company and were working and were present in the factory premises of the Company, were arrested.

Petitioners - Mr. Amar Singh and Mandeep Singh, who are register