Hon’ble Prabhat Chandra Tripathi, J.—The revisionist Arun Kumar Singh has preferred the instant criminal revision against the judgment and order dated 19.6.2001 passed in Criminal Misc. Application No. Nil of 2001 under Section 3/7 of The Essential Commodities Act, 1955 and Section 420 I.P.C., Police Station-Dev Gaon, District-Azamgarh by the learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Court No. 10, district Azamgarh by which learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Court No. 10, Azamgarh has rejected the application of the applicant Birendra Pal Singh for release of the tanker bearing Registration No. U.P.65 D-0375.

2. Learned counsel for the revisionist has argued that learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Court No. 10, Azamgarh has failed to examine the jurisdiction vested in it under Section 457 Cr.P.C. in respect of release of the above mentioned motor vehicle under Section 3/7 of E.C. Act and 420 I.P.C. on the ground that the Court of learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Court No. 10, Azamgarh has no jurisdiction under Section 457 Cr.P.C. to release the aforementioned vehicle. Only the district Collector has power under Section 6-A of The Essential Commodities Act, 1955 to release such vehicle. The aforementioned view taken by the Court of learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Court No. 10, Azamgarh is contrary to the law laid down by the Supreme Court of India in State of Madhya Pradesh and others v. Rameshwar Rathod, AIR 1990 SC 1849, because of the applicant is registered owner of seized tanker bearing Registration No. U.P.65 D-0375 and he has no knowledge that the driver has committed offence in respect of sale of seized solvent.

3. Heard learned counsel for the revisionist, learned Brief Holder for the State and perused the record.

4. On perusal of recovery memo (annexure-2), it is revealed that on date 27.5.2001 at about 10:15 A.M., Sri R.S. Dwivedi, Inspector In-charge, Police Station-Dev Gaon, District-Azamgarh alongwith other police personnels was patrolling in Maseerpur Bazar in his jurisdiction. Meanwhile, he received an information that certain persons were involved in the sale of solvent petroleum product by mis-branding it as petrol. Receiving such information, he reached at the place of occurrence situated in front of the shop of Jitendra Singh, Maseerpur Bazar, Police Station-Dev Gaon, District-Azamgarh and apprehended three persons, namely, Jitendra Singh, Sanjeev Kumar Verma and Birendra Singh. These arrested persons were taking out the solvent in the drum through pipe. On interrogation the aforementioned arrested persons informed the police personnels that they have purchased 12 kilo litres of solvent in the cheap rate and they used to sell this adulterated solvent by mis-branding it as petrol on the rates which are lesser than actual price rate of the petrol. Before the police personnels, they also confessed that they have drained out three drums of solvent and while they were filling the solvent in the 4th drum, police personnels had arrested them. Arrested persons failed to produce the requisite papers relating to the drained out solvent in four drums as well as rest of the filled solvent in the tanker.

5. The case was registered under Section 420 I.P.C. and for the violation of relevant petroleum products control orders. The aforementioned three accused persons were arrested and the tanker bearing Registration No. U.P.65 D-0375 alongwith four drums of adulterated solvent and one rubber pipe were seized by police.

6. The case was registered as Case Crime No. 155/2001 under Section 420 I.P.C. and Petroleum Products (Supply and Distribution) Order, 1972 and under Section 3/7 E.C. Act at police station Dev Gaon, District-Azamgarh on date 27.5.2001 at about 12:45 P.M. As a consequence thereof, Arun Kumar Singh claiming himself to be the registered owner of the tanker bearing Registration No. U.P.65 D-0375 moved an application under Section 457 Cr.P.C. to release t