IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.29179 of 2019 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-359 Year-2018 Thana- ALOULI District- Khagaria ======================================================

RADHE SHYAM YADAV @ BHOLA YADAV Son of Late Bhuneshwar Yadav Resident of Village - Pokhra, P.S.- Allouli, District - Khagaria ... ... Petitioner/s Versus

1. THE STATE OF BIHAR , THROUGH THE DISTRICT MAGISTRATE, KHAGARIA. Bihar

2. The Block Supply Officer, Allouli Block, District - Khagaria. Bihar

3. Bihar State Food and Civil Supplies Corporation, Khagaria through its Manager Bihar ... ... Opposite Party/s ======================================================

Appearance :

For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Ajay Prasad, Advocate For the State : Mr.Jharkhandi Upadhyay, A.P.P.

For the B.S.F.C. : Mr. Niraj Kumar, Advocate ======================================================

CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SANDEEP KUMAR ORAL ORDER

4 20-01-2026 Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner, the learned APP for the state and the learned Counsel for the B.S.F.C.

2. The present application has been filed for quashing of the order dated 10.12.2018, whereby the learned court has taken cognizance under section 420, 467 read with section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act,1955 in connection with Allouli P.S.

Case No.359 of 2018.

3. As per the prosecution, on 08.10.2018, Allouli Police seized a truck bearing no. HR69D0555 loaded with rice in the light of Memo No. 434 and brought the same to the police station. Subsequently, on conducting search, some documents and rice of Durga Rice Mill was found in the truck and the driver of the truck could not be traced. Later the proprietor-petitioner was asked for presenting the documents relating to the rice loaded on the truck, which the petitioner was not able to produce, and it was disclosed by the petitioner that the rice was for sale. It was alleged that the seized rice was government rice and the petitioner being proprietor has shown invoice bill that the said rice was parmal rice and the same was alleged to have been taken for black marketing and therefore the loaded 402 quintal of arwa rice and the truck in question was seized. Accordingly, a FIR was instituted against one unknown truck driver and the petitioner-Radhe Shyam Yadav on the basis of written report of the informant Ajay Kumar, Block Supply Officer, Allouli.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner has valid document, registered for running rice mill and he has purchased paddy from P.A.C.S and in spite of giving the relevant papers to the local police, the petitioner has been falsely implicated in the present case.

5. It is the categorical submission of the learned counsel for the petitioner that rice is not an essential commodity as per notification by the Central Government and therefore the provisions of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 are not attracted. Further, it is submitted that the sale of rice does not come under the Control Order and that no confiscation proceedings has been initiated against the petitioner. Particularly, it is the submission that arwa chawal is not an essential commodity and there is no price fixation on it and therefore, there is no question of black marketing of arwa rice. Despite the aforesaid, it is the submission of the learned counsel for the petitioner that the rice of the petitioner is seized from the truck which is perishable in nature. The seizure of the perishable rice of the petitioner without strictly adhering to the procedural requirements is also unsustainable and therefore liable to be set aside.

6. It is pointed out by the learned counsel that the seized rice as well as seized truck has already been released by a coordinate bench of this Court vide order dated 06.03.2019 passed in C.W.J.C. No. 3968 of 2019 and order dated

11.03.2019 passed in C.W.J.C. No. 4306 of 2019, respectively.

7. The learned APP for the State has opposed the prayer