Cri.Writ Petition No.1102 of 2009 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY, BENCH AT AURANGABAD CRIMINAL WRIT PETITION NO.1102 OF 2009 Sheshrao s/o Dattray Belge, Age 47 years, Occu.Agriculture R/o At Post Walunj, Taluka Pathardi, Dist.Ahmednagar ..PETITIONER VERSUS 1. The State of Maharashtra Through the Chief Conservator of Forest, Forest Department, Station Road, Aurangabad Division, Aurangabad 2. The Assistant Conservator of Forest, Forest Department, Station Road, Aurangabad Division, Aurangabad ..RESPONDENTS Mr Prashant R.Nangare, Advocate for petitioner Mrs R.K.Ladda, Assistant Public Prosecutor for respondents CORAM : P.V. HARDAS AND A.V. POTDAR, JJ DATE : 28th February 2011 ORAL JUDGMENT (PER P.V. HARDAS, J.) 1. This is a petition under Article 226 of the constitution of India by which the petitioner has prayed for quashing and setting aside the order dated 23.9.2009 passed by the Additional District and Sessions Judge-2, Jalna, in Criminal Appeal No.31 of 2009 and has prayed that during the pendency of this writ petition by an ad interim order the vehicle, which is confiscated viz. Tavera Jeep bearing Registration No.MH-16-Q-8456 be released. Cri.Writ Petition No.1102 of 2009 2 2. Such of the facts as are necessary for the decision of this writ petition may briefly be stated thus. The petitioner is the owner of the vehicle adverted to above. The petitioner had purchased the said vehicle to be used as a vehicle for faring tourists from one place to other. The aforesaid vehicle of the petitioner was available to the tourists on payment of the requisite charges. Somewhere in May 2007 the petitioner had gone to Bombay and since the vehicle was used commercially for this purpose, the driver of the vehicle negotiated and accordingly booked a vehicle for transporting persons from Pathardi to Jalna. Thus, the vehicle of the petitioner came to be engaged by the tourists on 21.5.2007. The vehicle came to be inspected by the Police of Bhokardan and during inspection it transpired that illicitly cut sandal wood was being transported in the said vehicle and accordingly an offence punishable under Section 379 read with sec.34 of the Indian Penal Code came to be registered vide Crime No.62/2007. On 17.6.2007 the custody of the vehicle was handed over to the forest officials and on 16.8.2008 the Assistant Conservator of Forest passed the first impugned order directing confiscation of the said vehicle. The petitioner filed a revision before the Chief Conservator of Forest on 1.11.2008 and pointed out that the petitioner had not been served with the notice as is contemplated in law. During the pendency of the revision a notice came to be served on the petitioner and, therefore, the revision came to be allowed and the matter came to be remanded back to the Assistant Conservator of Forest. The Assistant Conservator of Forest by his order dated 20.12.2008 directed the confiscation of the vehicle. Petitioner being aggrieved by the order of the Assistant Conservator of Forest dated 20.12.2008 preferred a fresh revision which came to Cri.Writ Petition No.1102 of 2009 3 be dismissed on 23.3.2009. The petitioner accordingly filed an appeal before the Sessions Judge at Jalna which also came to be dismissed. The aforesaid orders are impugned in the present petition. 3. Learned Counsel for the petitioner at the outset has urged before us, apart from other grounds that Section 61(B) particularly sub-section (2) of Section 61(B) of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 provides that if the owner of the vehicle is able to satisfactorily account for the commission of the offence by explaining that the offence had been committed either without his connivance or knowledge, the confiscation of the vehicle is not necessary. It is urged by the learned Counsel for the petitioner that the aforesaid issue had not been addressed to at all by the authorities below. The learned Counsel for the petitioner has also urged before us that this was a defence specifically pleaded by the petitioner in the reply to the show-cause notice as well as in the statement recorded by the authorities. It is, therefore, urged before us that the petitioner has satisfactorily explained that the offence, if at all was committed, was committed without either the knowledge or connivance of the petitioner. The learned Assistant Public Prosecutor has very stoutly supported the orders passed by the authorities below. 4. Perusal of the impugned orders reveal that the authorities have indeed not considered the defence of the petitioner. We have perused the reply filed by the petitioner and the reply indicates that the petitioner had specifically pleaded that the involvement of the petitioner is not discernible as the offence had been committed without either knowledge or connivance of the petitioner or his driver. The authorities below have not Cri.Writ Petition No.1102 of 2009 4 specifically addressed themselves as to whether the explanation offered by the petitioner was satisfactory. It appears that the authorities below have mechanically passed the orders without due application of mind, particularly to the various facets of defence raised by the petitioner as well as the defence, adverted to above, which is specifically pleaded by the petitioner. In that light of the matter, therefore, according to us, the impugned orders are wholly unsustainable in law and deserve to be quashed and set aside. 5. Accordingly, this writ petition is allowed and the impugned orders are hereby quashed and set aside and the matter is remitted back to the Assistant Conservator of Forest to decide the matter afresh, in accordance with law, after taking into consideration the several defences raised by the petitioner. Since the vehicle has remained idle since 2007, we direct the Assistant Conservator of Forest as well as the revisional and the appellate authorities, if their jurisdiction is invoked by the petitioner, to decide the matters in accordance with law and expeditiously. 6. Writ Petition is accordingly allowed. Rule is made absolute as indicated above with no orders as to costs. ( A.V. POTDAR, J.) ( P.V. HARDAS, J.) (vvr/1102.2009criwp)