Sri Edara Venkata Ramana Prasad vs State Of Andhra Pradesh
2023 Latest Caselaw 5018 AP

    IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH: AMARAVATI

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE DHIRAJ SINGH THAKUR, CHIEF JUSTICE
                                   &
         HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE R. RAGHUNANDAN RAO

                       W.P.No.27305 of 2023

Sri Edara Venkata Ramana Prasad,
S/o. Venkata Ramaiah,
Heredity Trustee, Shankara Matam,
Hindu, Male, Aged 65 years,
D.No.23B-3A, Edara Vari Street,
R.R.Peta, Eluru, West Godavari District.
                                                            ...Petitioner

                                 Versus

State of Andhra Pradesh,
Rep. by its Principal Secretary to the Government of
Andhra Pradesh (Municipal Administration),Secretariat,
Velagapudi, Amaravati, Guntur District and six others.
                                                     ...Respondents

Counsel for the petitioner : Mr. Eluru Sesha Mahesh Babu

Counsel for Respondent No.1 : GP for Municipal Administration and Urban Development

Counsel for the Respondent Nos.2 & 3 : GP for Civil Supplies

Counsel for Respondent No.4 : GP for Home

Counsel for Respondent No.5 : Mr. M. Manohar Reddy, Standing Counsel for Municipalities.

HCJ & RRR, J

Dt.: 16.10.2023

P.C:

1. The present Writ Petition has been filed challenging the notice

dated 13.10.2023, by the President of the District Consumer

Commission, Eluru District. The notice requires the petitioner to

show cause as to why actually has not taken in terms of Section 98

of the Consumer Protection Act.

2. The Section 228 of the IPC which envisages the punishment to

a person who intentionally offers any insult or causes any

interruption to any public Servant, while such public Servant is

sitting in any stage of the judicial proceedings.

3. The genesis of the notice appears to lie in a writ petition filed

earlier by the petitioner bearing W.P.No.18444 of 2022, in which

the Chairman of the District Consumer Forum, Eluru was made a

party-respondent by name.

4. The petitioner had filed the petition challenging the

proceedings initiated by the District Consumer Forum, ELuru,

based on a complaint in which the complainant had sought not only

Medical facilities but also Drinking Water facilities to the street HCJ & RRR, J

buffaloes within the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation,

Eluru.

5. The writ petition filed by the petitioner was allowed by virtue

of judgment and order dated 27.10.2022 and the proceedings

before the District Consumer Forum, West Godavari at Eluru in

C.C.No.23 of 2022 was quashed.

6. The case setup by the petitioner herein is that although the

presiding officer of the District Consumer Forum, Eluru was already

made as party respondent by name, yet an application bearing

I.A.No.2 of 2022 was filed on 17.10.2022, before the Hon'ble High

Court in the aforementioned proceedings seeking its deletion of the

name of Sri.D.Kondanda Rama Murthy from the array of the

respondents. It is stated that, without passing any order on the

said I.A., the Writ Petition itself came to be disposed of on the next

date i.e., on 27.10.2022.

7. It is in the aforementioned background that the notice

impugned in the present petition has been issued by the President

of the District Consumer Commission, alleging against the

petitioner that it had mislead the Hon'ble High court that it was not HCJ & RRR, J

at all a party to the complaint which was filed only against the

Municipal Corporation, Eluru and others and therefore sought an

explanation as to why action be not taken against the petitioner.

8. We failed to understand as to on what basis the President of

the District Consumer Commission, Eluru, assumed jurisdiction to

proceed against the petitioner on the basis of locus before the

Hon'ble High Court. If at all the said issue could only be gone into by

the Hon'ble High Court which entertained not only the writ petition

filed by the petitioner but also allowed the same by virtue of the

judgment and order dated 27.10.2022.

9. In our opinion, the proceedings initiated against the petitioner

herein are absolutely perverse in nature and the same are

accordingly quashed.

10. Accordingly the Writ Petition is allowed. No order as to costs.

Pending miscellaneous applications, if any, shall stand closed.

DHIRAJ SINGH THAKUR, CJ R. RAGHUNANDAN RAO, J

Note: Furnish C.C. by 16.10.2023, B/o SSN/SRT HCJ & RRR, J

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE DHIRAJ SINGH THAKUR, CHIEF JUSTICE & HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE R. RAGHUNANDAN RAO

W.P.No.27305 of 2023

(per Dhiraj Singh Thakur, CJ)

Dt:16.10.2023.

SSN/SRT