THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE K. LAKSHMAN
CRIMINAL PETITION No. 463 OF 2021
ORDER:
This petition is filed under Section 482 of Cr.P.C.,
seeking to quash the proceedings in C.C.No.408 of 2020 on
the file of the Junior Civil Judge-Cum-Judicial First Class
Magistrate at Adilabad against the petitioner/Accused. The
offences alleged against the petitioner are under Sections 270
and 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
1 Crl.P.No.3731 of 2018 & batch, decided on 27.08.2018 2 1992 Supp. (1) SCC 335 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.408 of 2020 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.408 of
2020 on the file of the Junior Civil Judge-Cum-Judicial First
Class Magistrate at Adilabad, are hereby quashed against the
petitioner/Accused.
5. Since the proceedings in C.C.No.408 of 2020 are
quashed, the petitioner is at liberty to file an appropriate
application before the Junior Civil Judge-Cum-Judicial First
Class Magistrate at Adilabad 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
