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TMI Blog2011 (3) TMI 1827X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nces. 2. The facts necessary to decide this petition are that the office of DGCEI had received information about large scale evasion of excise duty by M/s. Vinay Wires and Poly Products Pvt. Ltd., Unit-I II at Rania, Kanpur Dehat and other related establishments. The officers of DGCEI, R.K. Puram conducted search of the residential premises of Directors and business/factory premises of the company in June, 2009 and found that company was involved in manufacturing of Poly film, CPP film and Flexible printed laminated rolls and pouches and found that Company, in order to evade payment of excise duty, was using parallel invoices on which finished goods were cleared clandestinely and these invoices were not reflected in their business acco ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... re, illegal confinement, beatings and forcible recording of statements etc. The Allahabad High Court, vide order dated 12th October, 2009 dismissed the writ petitions holding that it was well within the scope of Section 14 of the Central Excise Act to issue summons to the Directors and other employees and ask them to make statements concerning the inquiry. Despite the dismissal of the writ petitions, none of the Directors thought it proper to appear before the officers of DGCEI and they absconded. 3. It seems that office of DGCEI got information about the Director/ Respondents having lodged themselves in Balaji Delux Hotel in Paharganj, New Delhi and on 10th November, 2009 at about 10.00-11.00 pm they were taken from the said hotel to R. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 0 pm on 11th November, 2009 and thereafter his arrest was shown. The purpose of wrongly confining the complainant was to harass and torture the complainant because of the complaint filed by him with National Human Rights Commission. Allegations were made that one Siddharth Dixit, Manager (Sales) was already in custody of the officers of DECEI and he was also tortured and Siddharth Dixit and the complainant, both were produced before the Court on 11th November, 2009. Their medical examination was conducted at Safdarjung Hospital. It is submitted that from the MLC it was clear that they had been beaten. It was alleged that the Petitioner had committed offences under Section 341, 348, 308, 324, 326, 191, 192, 193, 196 IPC. In support of this c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ccording to complainant the incident of forcibly taking the accused from his Hotel had taken place at Paharganj and the offence of wrongful confinement had allegedly taken place at R.K. Puram. The complaint was not filed either before the MM of Paharganj Police Station or before R.K. Puram Police Station. In the complaint, P.S. DGCEI is shown. There is no Police Station of DGCEI. DGCEI is a department and not a Police Station and therefore the learned ACMM committed an illegality in entertaining the complaint. 6. If we consider that the alleged act of forcibly taking the Respondent from Balaji Delux Hotel, situated at Paharganj, was an offence, this offence had taken place within the jurisdiction of Police Station Paharganj and a complai ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... willfully and maliciously giving false information and so causing an arrest or a search to be made under this Act shall be punishable with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees or with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with both. This Section shows that the Legislature was aware that while performing their duties the Central Excise Officers may exceed the powers and may take search of suspicious places like house, boat or any other place without reasonable ground and may vexatious and unnecessarily detain a person or arrest a person. Thus, Section 22 provided penalties for such officers and these penalties can be imposed by the concerned ACMM dealing with the matter as per law and no separate case for these ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e inquiries and record submissions. If a person was evading summons and instead of staying at home was hiding himself in a hotel, the Central Excise Officers had a ground to presume that the man may resist arrest and in order to arrest him if he had taken a team of officers, he is not acting beyond the scope of his duties. 8. The evidence led before the ACMM by the hotel staff and the complainant himself shows that the Respondent was taken from lobby to his room and then along with his belongings from room to outside the hotel. Even if it is presumed that a slap was given, that cannot be considered use of excess force for arresting a person or for detaining a person. 9. I also consider that the action of the officers in taking the Res ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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