2025:UHC:3301 HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAINITAL Criminal Misc. Application U/s 482 No. 1296 of 2015 29 April, 2025 Narendra Kumar --Applicant Vs. State Of Uttarakhand and another --Respondents ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Presence:- Mr. Pawan Sanwal, Advocate holding brief of Mr. Pankaj Chaturvedi, learned counsel for the applicants. Mr. S. S. Chauhan, learned Deputy Advocate General along with Mr. Vikash Uniyal, learned Brief Holder for the State/respondents. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hon'ble Alok Mahra, J. (oral) 1. Present C-482 Application has been filed with the prayer to quash the entire proceedings of Special Sessions Trial No. 07 of 2015, State vs. Narendra Kumar, under Sections 5 (b) of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908, pending in the Court of learned Special Sessions Judge, Chamoli, District Chamoli, whereby the application moved by the applicant under Section 227 of the Cr.P.C. registered as Application No. 16, has been rejected. 2. The case of the applicant is that, after the natural disaster took place in the month of January 2013, damage was caused to the motor road of District Chamoli and Rudraprayag; that the work given to Ms. R.G. Buildwell Engineers Ltd. C-35 R.D.C. Ranjagar, Ghaziabad; that the applicant Shri Neeraj Kumar was a Supervisor with this petty contractor for construction /repair of the road. The Executive Engineer of Public Works Department (Construction Division) Ukhimath, District Rudraprayag vide letter dated 15.03.2014 1 2025:UHC:3301 directed the construction company to receive the explosive material for the cutting of the hard rock from the department. Pursuant to this letter, the Company was supplied with the explosive substances under the U.S.R. dated 20.03.2014, which was 25 Kg. explosive and one cartoon fuse coil. The applicant was carrying the explosive material in his motor vehicle after receiving the delivery from the PWD and he was apprehended and at that time could not show the relevant papers pertaining to the explosives. 3. The FIR was lodged, and during the investigation, the construction company produced all the relevant papers regarding the allotment of the contract to it and issuance of explosives by the PWD Department. The Investigating Officer, without examining the veracity of these documents, submitted a charge-sheet against the applicant under Section 5(b) of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908. The learned CJM, vide its order dated 02.05.2015 took cognizance of the charge-sheet dated 18.12.2014 and registered Criminal Case No. 103 of 2015 against the applicant. The case was then committed for trial before the Court of Special Judge, Explosive Substances Act, and the same was registered as Special Sessions Trial No. 70 of 2015. An application under Section 227 of the Cr.P.C. was moved before the learned Special Sessions Judge seeking discharge of the applicant and the aforesaid discharge application was rejected by the learned Special Sessions Judge by order dated 26.09.2015, which is impugned in the present application. 4. Heard learned counsel for the parties, The counsel for the applicant has drawn the attention of this 2 2025:UHC:3301 Court to the letter dated 15.03.2014 issued by the Executive Engineer, Construction Division, PWD Ukhimath, Rudraprayag, whereby the construction company was directed to collect explosives from the department to be used in hill cutting work. The explosives were received by the contractor as per U.S.R. dated 20.03.2014. It was further pointed out that, vide letter dated 15.07.2014, the construction company certified that the work of hill-side cutting had been executed by the petty contractor Shri Neeraj Kumar. 5. This Court, vide its order dated 09.04.2025, directed the State Counsel to verify the authenticity of these letters. The learned Deputy Advocate General submitted, on the basis of instructions received, that the explosives mentioned in letters dated 15.03.2014 and 20.03.2014 were indeed issued by the department to the construction company. 6. The report of Station House Officer of Kotwali Chamoli dated 24.04.2025 submitted by the learned Deputy Advocate General is taken on record. 7. From the above facts, as verified by the department, it is apparently clear that the explosives recovered from the applicant were issued by the Public Works Department for the purpose of cutting hard rocks. For ready reference, Section 5 of the Act is extracted herein below: “Section 5. Punishment for making or possessing explosives under suspicious circumstances. Any person who makes or knowingly has in his possession or under his control any explosive substance or special category explosive substance, 3 2025:UHC:3301 under such circumstances as to give rise to a reasonable suspicion that he is not making it or does not have it in his possession or under his control for a lawful object, shall, unless he can show that he made it or had it in his possession or under his control for a lawful object, be punished,— (a) in the case of any explosive substance, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine; (b) in the case of any special category explosive substance, with rigorous imprisonment for life, or with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.” 8. In view of the above, from the above facts, it is apparently clear that the explosives recovered from the possession of the applicant were intended for a lawful object and were duly supplied to the company under which the applicant was working as a Supervisor. Therefore, the ingredients of Section 5(b) of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908 are not made out against the applicant. 9. Therefore, present C-482 Petition is allowed. 10. Accordingly, the entire proceedings of Special Sessions Trial No. 07 of 2015, State vs. Narendra Kumar, under Sections 5 (b) of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908, pending in the Court of learned Special Sessions Judge, Chamoli, District Chamoli, are hereby quashed. (Alok Mahra, J.) 29.04.2025 Kaushal 4