Cheerala Sambashiva Reddy And 5 ... vs The State Of Telangana And Another

                HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE K. LAKSHMAN

                   CRIMINAL PETITION No.2567 OF 2021
                               With I.A. No.1 OF 2021

COMMON ORDER:

           This petition is filed under Section 482 of Cr.P.C., seeking

to quash the proceedings in C.C.No.1096 of 2017 on the file of

Additional          Judicial       Magistrate        of    First    Class,    Manthani

Jayashankar                 Bhupalpally              District,        against       the

petitioners/accused Nos.1 to 6 and for a consequential direction

as to return the seized property. The petitioners are accused in

the above said Crime. The offences alleged against them are

under Sections 270 and 273 of IPC. Whereas, the petitioners

also filed I.A.No.1 of 2021 for return of material, which were

seized in the above said crime.


           2. Heard learned counsel for the petitioners, and learned

Assistant          Public     Prosecutor.         Perused     the    entire     material

available on record.


           3.      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.




1
    Crl.P.No.3731 of 2018 & batch, decided on 27.08.2018
                                     2



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 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.1096 of 2017 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.1096 of

2017 on the file of Additional Judicial Magistrate of First Class,

Manthani,          Jayashankar   Bhupalpally   District,   are   hereby

quashed against the petitioners/Accused Nos.1 to 6.


5.        It is submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioners

that the seized property is in the custody of Additional Judicial


2
    1992 Supp. (1) SCC 335
                                  3



Magistrate of First Class, Manthani, Jayashankar Bhupalpally

District and sought direction to the learned Magistrate, to return

the seized property to the petitioner.


      7. I.A. No.1 of 2021 is filed by the petitioners for return of

material, which were seized in the above said crime. Since the

proceedings in the aforesaid case are quashed against the

petitioners/Accused Nos.1 to 6 in C.C.No.No.1096 of 2017, the

Additional   Judicial   Magistrate   of   First   Class,   Manthani,

Jayashankar Bhupalpally District, is directed to return the

seized property on proper identification and verification of

ownership of seized property under due acknowledgment.

Accordingly, I.A. No.1 of 2021 is closed.


      As a sequel, miscellaneous petitions pending, if any, in the

criminal petition, shall stand closed.


                                                  __________________
                                                  K. LAKSHMAN, J
26.03.2021

dv