Utturi Sridhar vs The State Of Telangana
2021 Latest Caselaw 253 Tel

              THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE K. LAKSHMAN

                      CRIMINAL PETITION No. 423 OF 2021
ORDER:

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

quash the proceedings in C.C.No.172 of 2019 on the file of the

Judicial First Class Magistrate at Bhainsa against the

petitioner/Accused. The offences alleged against the petitioners

are under Sections 270 & 273 of IPC.

2. Learned counsel for the petitioner 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 competent to investigate and to file charge sheet following

the Rules laid down under Sections 41 and 42 of FSS Act,

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

1992 Supp. (1) SCC 335 whereas, in the present case, the Police have registered the crime

for the offences under Sections 270 & 273 of IPC. Therefore, the

said proceedings in C.C.No.172 of 2019 against the petitioner

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.172 of 2019

on the file of the Judicial First Class Magistrate at Bhainsa, are

hereby quashed against the petitioner/Accused.

5. Since the proceedings in C.C.No.172 of 2019 are quashed,

the petitioner is at liberty to file an appropriate application before

the Judicial First Class Magistrate at Bhainsa seeking release of

the seized property and the learned Magistrate shall consider the

same and release the seized property on verification of the

ownership.

6. Accordingly, the Criminal Petition is allowed. Miscellaneous

petitions pending, if any, in this Criminal Petition, shall stand

closed.

__________________ K. LAKSHMAN, J Date: 03.02.2021 dv