Patna High Court Cr.Misc. No.12524 of 2001 (4) dt.18-08-2011 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Criminal Miscellaneous No.12524 of 2001 ====================================================== Dinesh Prasad Singh .... .... Petitioner/s Versus State Of Bihar .... .... Opposite Party/s ====================================================== with Criminal Revision No.866 of 2001 ====================================================== Nand Kishore Prasad .... .... Petitioner/s Versus State Of Bihar .... .... Respondent/s ====================================================== Appearance : (In both cases) For the Petitioner/s : Mr. N. K. Agrawal, Senior Advocate Mr. D. N. Tiwary, Advocate For the Respondent/s : Mr. Dilip Kumar Sinha, A.P.P. ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SHYAM KISHORE HARMA AND HONOURABLE JUSTICE SMT. SHEEMA ALI KHAN ORAL ORDER (Per: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SHYAM KISHORE SHARMA) 4 18-08-2011 Both these cases were referred to the Division Bench by the learned Single Judge on the issue as to whether the provisions of Bihar Trade Articles (Licenses Unification) Order, 1984 are workable with regard to edible oil on account of non- definition of different categories of cities. Criminal Misc. No. 12524 of 2001 has been filed on behalf of the petitioner Dinesh Prasad Singh challenging the order dated 28.08.1999 passed in G.R. Case No. 11 of 1994 by which the Special Judge, Aurangabad has rejected the Patna High Court Cr.Misc. No.12524 of 2001 (4) dt.18-08-2011 application filed on behalf of the petitioner to discharge him for the offences alleged to have been committed under Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act read with Sections 414 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code. The brief facts of the case are that First Information Report was instituted alleging therein that the informant suspected that mustard oil was being sold in the black market. On the basis of the aforesaid suspicion, the shop of Ravindra Prasad @ Munna and Vikash Keshari were searched and 20 & 25 tins of mustard oil were recovered from their shops respectively. Criminal Revision No. 866 of 2001 has been filed on behalf of the petitioner Nand Kishore Prasad for setting aside the order dated 11.10.2001 passed in G.R. Case No. 10 of 1996 by which the Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Aurangabad has dismissed the discharge application filed on behalf of the petitioner. Briefly stating, the allegation is that the shop and godown of the petitioner was searched and rice, pulses, sugar, washing powder and 05 quintals of edible oil were seized by the Officer-in-charge of the Aurangabad Town Police Station. It is alleged that the petitioner was unable to produce the license Patna High Court Cr.Misc. No.12524 of 2001 (4) dt.18-08-2011 showing him to be a retail or wholesale dealer of the items so seized. The question raised in the above two cases have been decided by a Division Bench of this Court in Criminal Misc. No. 33926 of 2002 vide order dated 29.07.2011 wherein the Division Bench has relied upon another Division Bench decision passed in Criminal Misc. No. 1045 of 1987, wherein it has been clearly held as follows:- “It has been settled by this Court that if A Class and B Class Cities are not defined the Unification Order in relation to edible oil will not be workable. It has been also stated by a catena of decisions of this Court that when the Unification Order is not workable, the persons cannot be prosecuted for violation of its provisions.” Considering the two aforesaid orders of the Division Bench, this Court quashes the impugned orders dated 28.08.1999 passed in G.R. Case No. 11 of 1994 and 11.10.2001 passed in G.R. Case No. 10 of 1996. These two applications are accordingly allowed. Prabhakar Anand/- (Shyam Kishore Sharma, J) (Sheema Ali Khan, J)