Mekala Prabhakar, And 2 Others vs The State Of Telangana, And ...
2021 Latest Caselaw 379 Tel

               THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE K.LAKSHMAN

                   CRIMINAL PETITION No.716 of 2021

ORDER:

This Criminal Petition is filed under Section 482 of

Cr.P.C. to quash the proceedings in Crime No.24 of 2021,

pending on the file of Station House Officer, Khammam Rural

Police Station, Khammam District against the

petitioners/Accused. The offences alleged against the

petitioners are under Sections 270, 273 of IPC and Section 20

(2) of Cigarette & Tobacco Product Act, 2003 (for short 'the

COTP Act').

.

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

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

1992 Supp. (1) SCC 335

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 270 273 of IPC and

Section 20(2) of the COTP Act. Therefore, the said

proceedings in Crime No.24 of 2021 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 Crime No.24 of

2021, pending on the file of Station House Officer, Khammam

Rural Police Station, Khammam District, are hereby quashed

against the petitioners/Accused.

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

that the seized property is in the custody of Police, Khammam

Rural Police Station and sought direction to the Station

House Officer, Khammam Rural Police Station, Khammam

District, to return the seized property to the petitioners.

6. Since the proceedings in Crime No.24 of 2021 are

quashed against the petitioners/Accused, the Police,

Khammam Rural Police Station, Khammam District, are

directed to return the seized property on verifying the

documents with regard to ownership of the said property.

Miscellaneous petitions, if any, pending in this Petition,

shall stand closed.

________________________ JUSTICE K.LAKSHMAN Date: 10.02.2021 dv