THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE G.BHAVANI PRASAD CRIMINAL PETITION No.7612 of 2009 DATED:18.09.2009 Between: Goli Satyanarayana Reddy .. Petitioner And The State of Andhra Pradesh, rep., by its Public Prosecutor, High Court of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad and others .. Respondents ORDER: Heard Sri Palle Nageswar Rao, learned counsel for the petitioner, and Sri A.Ramesh, learned counsel representing the learned Public Prosecutor for all the respondents. The remand report in Cr.No.226 of 2009 of Sathupalli Police Station, Khammam District, dated 12.09.2009 shows that on interception of a vehicle and interrogation of the second accused, it was found that the petitioner herein was delivering black jaggery weekly twice to his village with which the second accused was manufacturing illicitly distilled liquor. It was further stated that a lorry was intercepted, on such information, in which, the petitioner himself was travelling and he was claimed to have confessed that he was delivering black jaggery in the villages for manufacture of illicitly distilled liquor. It was also stated that the lorry was carrying not only black jaggery but also illicitly distilled liquor and that the lorry, black jaggery and illicitly distilled liquor were seized. The petitioner now produces a copy of the bill under which he claimed to have purchased the jaggery in question from a dealer in Chittoor on 10.09.2009. He further claims that he is a businessman doing business under a valid licence issued by the Commercial Taxes Department and that he is dealing with black jaggery and alum also as part of his business. He is claiming that black jaggery and alum are not prohibited and regulated under any law, which is not in dispute and black jaggery is a perishable commodity. If the possession and sale of black jaggery is not prohibited under any law, the stocks seized cannot be permitted to deteriorate and degenerate pending the criminal proceedings. Irrespective of the truth or otherwise of the claims or innocence of the petitioner, the black jaggery has to be entrusted to him by way of interim custody, in view of the principles laid down by the Apex Court in Sunderbhai Ambalal Desai V. State of Gujarat [1]. Therefore, 250 bags of black jaggery of 50 kgs., each seized in Cr.No.226 of 2009 on the file of Station House Officer, Sathupalli Police Station shall be entrusted to the interim custody of the petitioner on his execution of a personal bond for Rs.1,50,000/- (Rupees one lakh fifty thousand only) with one surety for a likesum to the satisfaction of the Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Sathupalli, Khammam District and further subject to the petitioner undertaking to produce the same quantity and quality of black jaggery whenever directed by the Court or the competent authority. Accordingly, the Criminal Petition is allowed. ___________________ G. BHAVANI PRASAD, J 18th September 2009 KH [1] (2002) 10 SCC 283