THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE K.LAKSHMAN
CRIMINAL PETITION No.1203 of 2021
ORDER:
This Criminal Petition is filed under Section 482 of Cr.P.C. to quash the proceedings in C.C.No.190 of 2018, pending on the file of Special PCR Mobile Court-cum-Judicial First Class Magistrate, Adilabad. The offences alleged against the petitioners are under Sections 270 and 273 of IPC.
2. Learned counsel for the petitioners as well as the learned Assistant Public Prosecutor would submit that the subject matter is squarely covered by a common order in Chidurala Shyamsubder v. State of Telangana1 rendered by the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad for the State of Telangana and the State of Andhra Pradesh, and placed copy of the said judgment for perusal.
3. In Chidurala Shyamsubder's case (supra), a learned Single Judge of the High Court, following the guidelines laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal2, held that the Police are incompetent to take cognizance of the offences punishable under Sections 45 and 59(1) of the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006, investigating into the offences along with other offences under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and filing charge sheet is grave illegality, as the Food Officer alone is 1 Crl.P.No.3731 of 2018 & batch, decided on 27.08.2018 2 1992 Supp. (1) SCC 335 2 competent to investigate and to file charge sheet following the Rules laid down under Sections 41 and 42 of FSS Act, whereas, in the present case, the Police have registered the crime for the offences under Sections 270 and 273 of IPC. Therefore, the said proceedings in C.C.No.190 of 2018 against the petitioners herein are contrary to the principle held by the learned Single Judge of the High Court in Chidurala Shyamsubder (supra) and, accordingly, the same are liable to be quashed.
4. In view of the above submission, the present Criminal Petition is allowed in terms of the judgment in Chidurala Shyamsubder (supra), and the proceedings in C.C.No.190 of 2018, pending on the file of Special PCR Mobile Court-cum- Judicial First Class Magistrate, Adilabad, are hereby quashed against the petitioners/accused.
5. Since the proceedings in Crime No.190 of 2018 are quashed against the petitioners/accused, the petitioners are at liberty to file appropriate application for return of seized property i.e., Vimal Panmasala packets (28), Vimal Bhole Jambo Kesari packets (19), Amber Tobacco packets (13), V-1 Tobacco 30 pouches packet (22), V-1 Tobacco 60 pouches packets (30), Baba Tobacco 40 grams packets (3) and Maja Chetavn boxes (2), including the crime vehicle i.e., TVS XL- 100 vide registration No.TS-01-EJ-1275, to the petitioners on verifying the documents with regard to ownership of the said 3 property. Miscellaneous petitions, if any, pending in this Petition, shall stand closed.
________________________ JUSTICE K.LAKSHMAN Date: 26.02.2021 TJMR