Likening cigarettes to perishable apples, the Madras High Court Bench here has ordered that a consignment of cigarettes allegedly stolen by an inspector be returned to its owner as the tobacco product if left unused for long would become unfit for use, lose their commercial value and end up in dust bin.
Justice P. Devadass gave the ruling while reversing an order passed by a Judicial Magistrate in Dindigul on July 13 refusing to permit the sale of 48 cartons of cigarettes, worth over Rs. 36 lakh, which were allegedly looted by an inspector of police in Dindigul on February 13 and subsequently recovered from him.
The Magistrate had refused to permit the owner of the consignment, B. Sivaperumal, to sell the cigarettes on the grounds that they were not perishable and their production in the court (as material evidence) was very much necessary during the trial of the robbery case registered against R. Gopinatha Pandian, the accused.
Differing with the Magistrate, Mr. Justice Devadass said: “Suppose 100 boxes of apples were robbed, can we ask the complainant to keep them as it is till the trial is over. If the de facto complainant is asked to keep the cigarette cartons as it is, the cigarettes will become waste.”
He went on to state that while dealing with criminal cases, not only should the rights of the accused but also the plight of the victims be given equal consideration.
“In a criminal case, the most forgotten elements are victims of crime. The defence lawyers are always interested in securing the acquittal of the accused. Prosecution is very much interested in securing the conviction of the accused and courts are interested in disposing of the cases. But, nobody cares for the victims of crime. Actually, they are the real sufferers,” the judge said.
He held that the victim of the crime in the present case would have to suffer huge losses if he was not permitted to sell the cigarettes until the completion of trial.
“Petitioner is not a robber. He is not an accused. He is a businessman. He is a crime victim. He is already victimised by the crime committed by the accused persons. Now, by the Magistrate court through its impugned order,” the judge added.
After setting aside the Magistrate’s order, the judge permitted the petitioner to sell the cigarettes without waiting for completion of trial, which, he said “is not going to get over in a few days.”
