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TMI Blog1989 (8) TMI 337X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... . PANDIAN, JJ For the Appellants : M.C. Bhandare, (N.P.) and Gopal K. Bansal For the Respondent : Mahabir Singh JUDGMENT We grant special leave and proceed to dispose of this appeal. On June 28, 1980 the appellants formed a partnership firm for the purpose of running a rice mill in the name and style of M/s Panna Lal Prem Nath Rice Mills at Shahput. They have been convicted by the Presiding Officer of the Special Court, Karnal by judgment dated March 10, 1986 for contravention of the provisions of the Haryana Rice Procurement (Levy) Order, 1979, read with section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act. They were sentenced to six months rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs.2,000 each. The High Court of Punjab and Haryana has ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ction could not be sustained. Counsel rested his submission on the text of section 10 of the Essential Commodities Act. This section provides: "10. Offences by companies--(1) If the person contravening an order made under section 3 is a company, every person who, at the time of contravention was committed, was in charge of, and was responsible to, the company for the conduct of the business of the company as well as the company, shall be deemed to be guilty of the contravention and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly: Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section render any such person liable to any punishment if he proves that the contravention took place without his knowledge or that he exercised all ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eir knowledge or in spite of exercising due diligence on their part. He relied upon the proviso to subsection (1) of sec. 10. It is true that under the Indian Partnership Act, 1932, a firm or partnership is not a legal entity but is merely an association of persons agreed to carry on business. It is only a collective name for individuals, carrying on business in partnership. The essential characteristic of a firm is that each partner is a representative of other partners. Each of the partners is an agent as well as a principal. He is an agent in so far as he can bind the other partners by his acts within the scope of the partnership agreement. He is a principal to the extent that he is bound by acts of other partners. In fact every part ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... uch offence arises only when the prosecution establishes that the requisite condition mentioned in sub-section (1) is established. The requisite condition is that the partner was responsible for carrying on the business and was during the relevant time in charge of the business. In the absence of any such proof, no partner could be convicted. We, therefore, reject the contention urged by counsel for the State. We have perused the evidence of the prosecution. Santlal Inspector, Food and Civil Supplies (PW 1) has deposed that the accused were partners of the firm. He has stated that the statement Ex. P. 8 regarding purchase of paddy and supply of levy rice was signed by Lajpat Rai as partner on behalf of the firm. The rest of his statement ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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