How can you initiate prosecutions for black marketing without capping prices, asks court
New Delhi: The government's job is not to act like a terrorist and abdicate its responsibility by punishing a common man, a Delhi Court noted on Tuesday while ripping apart the Delhi Police's case in connection with the purported seizure of over 7,000 oxygen concentrators from upscale restaurants and bars owned and operated by businessman Navneet Kalra.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Arun Kumar Garg, while hearing the bail applications of the Matrix Cellular Services Ltd. CEO Gaurav Khanna and three other accused persons, apart from absconding restaurateur Kalra, came down heavily on Delhi Police and orally asked the prosecution as to how they can penalize people for alleged hoarding and blackmarketing without first putting out an order regulating the prices of such products.
CMM Kumar also asked as to how is it a crime if the business is being done as per norms and all taxes are being paid accordingly. "Is doing business in this country an offence?... All the payment is being made through banking channels, payments are accounted for in tax invoices...CGST and SGST is being paid to the government," the court stated.
Pulling up the prosecution on how did they make out a case under section 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and further stating that black-marketing is a loose term, the court remarked, "You have to make law and then penalise...can you make them (accused
persons) guilty of offences which is no offence just to remain in good books? You are hiding your failures...If there is a vacuum, there is no price regulation but you are not doing it for reasons best known to you…"
"You are creating terror, this is not the job of the government...you are abdicating responsibility, you'll punish anyone?... You have to go by the law...I don't know the credentials of the businessman, if you are doing business you must have done cost-benefit evaluation...you'll look for your profit right?...Unless vacuums are fixed by legislature, till that time how can we catch hold of people like this, is this the way state should function?...You cannot curtail someone's liberty for carrying out an offence," the court further added.
CMM Garg also went on to express grievance at the conduct of the investigating agency where he claimed that he has been witnessing a "disturbing trend" where police starts investigating after the FIR in the case has been filed and not before it. "This is a very pathetic condition...this is the reason why my orders are pretty harsh. The investigation should happen in a planned manner...you should keep your prejudices and opinions aside and reach out the truth...because your inclination is not to send anybody behind bars…" the court stated.
