Even When Vehicle Loaded With River Sand Is In Stationary Mode, It Will Amount To 'Transport' Of Sand: Kerala HC
Kerala High Court held that even when a vehicle loaded with river sand is in stationary mode, it will amount to transport of sand
The court upheld the applicability of the Kerala Protection of River Banks and Regulation of Removal of Sand Act, 2001 (the Act), to stationary vehicles loaded with river sand. The accused were charged with unlawfully removing and transporting river sand without proper documentation or permits, using a vehicle that lacked valid insurance and had not paid the required periodical tax.
A Single Bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas observed, “Petitioners and the other accused are alleged to have transported river sand without any permit or pass, as required under law. The Sand Act mandates that the river sand shall be removed only after obtaining permission from the Competent Authority. Admittedly, the petitioners did not possess any such permission. Therefore, the river sand found in the lorry belonging to the second accused was not legally authorised.”
Advocate P.M. Ziraj represented the petitioners, while P.P. Ashi M.C. appeared for the respondents.
A petition was filed under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. for the Court to consider whether the penal provisions of the Act, 2001 apply to river sand found on a stationary vehicle.
The accused challenged the charges under the Act, arguing that the vehicle, found stationary in the compound of the third accused, did not constitute transportation as defined by the Act. The prosecution countered that the term "transport" within the Act included vehicles loaded with river sand regardless of their motion status.
“Section 23 of the Sand Act states that whoever transports sand, without complying with the provisions of the Act shall be punished, and the vehicle used for the transportation be liable to be seized by the Police or Revenue Officials. The word transport cannot be interpreted to mean that the vehicle must be in motion. If such an interpretation is adopted, the whole purpose of the statute would be defeated,” the Court remarked.
The Bench explained that the legal definition of "transport" included carrying or conveying from one place to another, as defined in Black's Law Dictionary and the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. The Court stated that the words ‘transports sand’ would take in the removal of sand from the river bed to the lorry and from the lorry to any other place.
“Even when a vehicle is loaded with river sand, it will amount to transport of sand, irrespective of whether the vehicle has set in motion or not. The contention of the learned counsel for the petitioners that the vehicle in a stationary mode will not fall within the purview of the Sand Act is too far-fetched and is not legally tenable,” the Court clarified.
Consequently, the Court held, “Taking into consideration the alleged repeated commission of similar offences by the first petitioner in similar offences, interference under Section 482 of Cr.P.C is not called for. ”
Accordingly, the High Court dismissed the petition.
Cause Title: Arshad & Anr. v. State Of Kerala & Anr. (Neutral Citation: 2024:KER:46699)
Appearance:
Petitioners: Advocates P.M.Ziraj and Irfan Ziraj
Respondents: P.P. Ashi M.C