ORDER
Tapen Sen, J.
1. In this writ petition, the petitioner prays for quashing the order dated 24.12.2001 as contained at Annexure 1 to the writ petition passed by the Deputy Commissioner, SahebganJ (Respondent No. 2) in Confiscation Case No. 2/2001-2002, whereby and whereunder, he has confiscated the truck bearing No. BR-12-7365 including the other articles and has passed an order of auction of the truck. The petitioner has also made a prayer for a direction upon the respondents to release the truck in favour of the petitioner as she is the legal owner of the vehicle in question.
2. According to petitioner, on 11.7.2001 the Supply Inspector, Barharwa conducted a raid in the premises of one Rajesh Kumar Agarwal and seized 147 tins of mustard oil, 14 tins of dalda, 30 quintals of sugar and also a truck bearing registration No. BR-12-7365 and handed over the same to the Officer-in-charge, Kotal Pokhar (Barharwa) P.S. Subsequently, on 13.7.2001 an FIR was registered being Kotal Pokhar P.S. Case No. 36/2001 under Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act against one Rajesh Kumar Agarwal.
3. Further case of the petitioner is that after registration of the aforementioned case an application for initiating a confiscation proceeding under Section 6-A of the E.G. Act was filed by the Supply Inspector, Barharwa and accordingly, a Confiscation Case No. 2/2001-2002 was instituted and a show cause notice was issued to the said Rajesh Kumar Agarwal and after hearing him the respondent No. 2 confiscated the above mentioned articles as also the truck and passed an order dated 24.12.2001 for auction sale thereof. According to petitioner, from a perusal of the aforementioned order dated 24.12.2001 it would be apparent that no show cause notice was ever issued against the petitioner and in the absence of such show cause notice and without hearing the petitioner, the said order could not have been passed confiscating the petitioner’s truck and putting the same to auction sale.
4. According to petitioner, the goods which were seized were purchased by Rajesh Kumar Agarwal and the petitioner’s truck was used for transportation by one transporter
named Ajit Dutta on whose telephonic instructions, the driver of the truck had loaded the articles and had taken it to Kotal Pokhar where it was seized without any knowledge to the petitioner.
5. The driver of the said truck, namely. S.K. Jamal had his own driving licence and he has already been granted bail. The petitioner asserts that the truck in question was having all valid papers, such as owner book, insurance paper, tax token, road permit etc. and inspite of the availability of all these papers, no enquiry was made by the respondent No. 2 and the vehicle in question was confiscated.
6. The petitioner has stated that Rajesh Kumar Agarwal had moved this Court for quashing of confiscation proceeding and an interim order of stay has been passed on 15.1.2002 in W.P. (C) No. 376/2002. It is on these grounds that the petitioner has filed the instant writ application making prayers referred to above.
7. According to the respondent No. 2 (who has filed counter affidavit), the petitioner has not exhausted the alternative remedy and as such the writ petition should be dismissed on that ground. At paragraphs 6 to 9, the respondent No. 2 has stated that Supply Inspector, Barharwa, Sahibganj had raided the premises of Rajesh Kumar Agarwal on 11.7.2001 and had seized the essential commodities as also the truck in question which carried the articles. He has further stated that a seizure list was prepared in the presence of the witnesses and a copy thereof was given to the respondent No. 6 (i.e. Rajesh Kumar Agarwal). After initiating of Kotal Pokhar P.S. Case No. 36/2001 and after per using the report submitted before the respondent No. 2, confiscation proceeding No. 2/2001-2002 under Section 6-A of the E.G. Act was initiated. According to respondent No. 2, the respondent No. 6 (i.e. Rajesh Kumar Agarwal) appeared and filed a detailed show cause and did not divulge any information regarding ownership of the truck rather, kept mum about the same. According to him, the petitioner had knowledge of seizure and confiscation proceeding but did not turn up and, therefore, the requirement of Section 6-D of the E.C. Act was fulfilled and that the order dated 24.12.2001 had been passed after hearing the parties. It has also stated that he had no knowledge of the fact that the
truck belonged to the petitioner as the respondent No. 6 did not mention this fact.
8. In the instant case, from a perusal of Annexure 1. i.e. the order dated 24.12.2001 it is apparent that the entire case was initiated against one Rajesh Kumar Agarwal and the petitioner was not noticed. Even if Rajesh Kumar Agarwal had kept mum over the ownership of the vehicle it was the duty of the seizing authorities to have verified the ownership of the truck.
9. Section 6-A of the Essential Commodities Act provides for confiscation of food grains, edible oil seeds and edible oils and states that where any essential commodity is seized in pursuance of an order made under Section 3 in relation thereto, a report of such seizure shall without any reasonable delay, be made to the Collector of the district or the Presidency Town in which such essential commodity is seized and whether or not a prosecution is instituted for the contravention of such order, the Collector may, if he thinks it expedient so to do, direct the essential commodity so seized to be produced for inspection before him, and if he is satisfied that there has been contravention of the order may order confiscation of the goods in question. The most important provision of this Section is, therefore, that there has to be an order under Section 3.
10. This view was taken by the learned Single Judge of the Hon’ble Patna High Court in the case of Shanti Trading Company and Ors. v. State of Bihar and Ors.,
reported in 1998 PLJR 732, wherein it has been held that before passing an order of confiscation under Section 6-A of the E.C. Act, 1955 the authorities must establish clearly which provisions of an order have been violated. Mere mentioning that there was violation of an order is not enough. Under Section 6-B of the E.C. Act no order of confiscation has to be made under Section 6-A unless the owner inter alia of a vehicle, is given notice and an opportunity is given to him/her so that he/she can make a representation and a reasonable opportunity of being heard in the matter is given. In the instant case, no such opportunity apparently appears to have been given to the petitioner. Such notice is mandatory.
11. In the instant case no such notice appears to have been given and even the
order dated 24.12.2001 is silent on this issue. In that view of the matter, the impugned order in relation to confiscation and auction sale of the truck belonging to the petitioner cannot be sustained in law and the matter requires reconsideration by the authorities.
12. For the reasons aforesaid, this writ
petition is allowed and the impugned order
insofar as it relates to the confiscation and
auction sale of the truck bearing registration
No. BR-12-7365 is concerned, is hereby set
aside. The matter is remanded to the respondent No. 2 to pass a fresh order in accordance
with law.