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Synopsis

The Calcutta High Court recently quashed proceedings under Sections 419, 420, 467, 471 and 478 of the Indian Penal Code against a truck driver who allegedly affixed the 'On Duty PDS Food and Supply Department, Government of West Bengal' sign to the front of his vehicle in order to pass through a no-entry zone, on the grounds that the allegations against him did not fall within the definitions of the offences.

The single judge bench of Justice Ananya Bandyopadhyay at the Circuit bench at Jalpaiguri observed that there should be certain mechanisms on the part of the traffic police to restrict the vehicles from plying through the ‘no entry zone’ area with such stickers.

Court said, “There should be a certain mechanism on the part of the traffic police to restrict the vehicles from plying through the ‘no entry zone’ area with such stickers for availing hassle-free communication methodology.”

An ASI, Sadar Traffic, Jalpaiguri, filed a complaint on January 17, 2022, stating that on January 16, 2022, at approximately 12:50 hrs, he and two constables observed two trucks with 'On Duty PDS Food and Supply Department, Government of West Bengal' signs on the front moving towards the Kadamtala no entry zone area.

On interrogation, the drivers admitted that they had loaded the truck with sand from the Jalpesh river bed under the Moinaguri police station in order to sell it in the Jalpaiguri area, affixing the sign 'On Duty PDS Food Supply Department, Government of West Bengal' in order to pass through the no-entry zone area while taking unfair advantage of the police authority.

The trucks were seized pursuant to Section 102 of the Criminal Procedure Code in the presence of witnesses, and their drivers were detained pursuant to Section 441 of the Criminal Procedure Code via arrest warrants. A case was registered under IPC Sections 419, 420, 467, 471, and 478.

The petitioner thereafter lodged an application before the high court pursuant to Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code to quash the proceedings under the aforementioned provisions of the Indian Penal Code. The counsel for the petitioner argued that the petitioner's conduct did not comprise any of the offences outlined in the aforementioned IPC provisions. In addition, it was asserted that the petitioner's alleged wrongdoing would have been a violation of traffic laws.

It was argued that the complaint did not detail any incident in which the accused deceived a person by impersonation, dishonestly induced a person to deliver any property to any person, destroyed any portion of the valuable security, or forged any document or prepared any forged document to transfer the valuable security for the purpose of cheating, or fraudulently or dishonestly used any forged document as genuine.

On the other hand, the counsel for the State argued that the petitioner entered the 'no entry zone' area with an ulterior motive, knowing that the sand carried by lorry did not constitute an essential commodity, and thus attempted to manipulate the traffic authorities for the purpose of subserving his ulterior motive.

The court noted that the petitioner was accused of affixing a sticker to the front of the vehicle, which would constitute an unlawful advantage to be used for commuting, which does not fall within the definitions of the above offences.

The court said, “The traffic police must regulate certain procedures to combat any violation of the traffic rules on disguise resulting in unlawful entry and exit into ‘no entry zone’ area. Contraband articles and other illegal commodities may be transferred from one place to another for the furtherance of deceptive and disguised pursuits, which will indubitably entail serious consequences.”

Accordingly, the court quashed the FIR filed against the driver for putting an ‘On duty with food & supply department’ sticker on the truck to pass through the entry zone.

Case Title: Jamir Hossain v. The State of West Bengal

Statute: Indian Penal Code