Nand Kishore Prasad vs The State of Bihar and Others

P.K. Deb, J.—This application has been filed u/s 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for quashing of the entire criminal proceeding including the order taking cognizance in Jehanabad P.S. Case No. 65 of 1992 by the Special Judge Gaya u/s 7 of the Essential Commodities Act. The cognizance had been taken on 5.5.1995 as is appearing from the impugned order as filed under Annexure-3. From the F.I.R. it appears that the offence was committed sometime in the year 1988. The nature of offence was that the license belonging to the Petitioner shows the name of the licensee being cut by doing forgery over the same causing black marketing of Kerosene Oil by the persons whose name had been forgedly included within the licence of the Petitioner. Although the offence was said to be committed in the year 1988, the prosecution report was submitted in the year 1992 and cognizance has been taken in the year 1995. As per Section 12AA of the E.C. Act the maximum sentence which can be imposed u/s 7 of the E.C. Act is two years and in that way when the cognizance has been taken after long seven years definitely the cognizance is bad as contemplated u/s 468 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The same view has been taken by a Bench of this Court in Criminal Revision No. 441 of 1994 copy of which has been annexed as annexure-4. Thus the present case is totally covered by the said decision. The criminal prosecution together with the order of cognizance being barred by limitation is nothing but an abuse of the process of the Court. Hence the same is quashed on allowance of the petition without costs.