Mahesh Singh Raj Purohith vs The State Of Telangana
2021 Latest Caselaw 496 Tel

          THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE K. LAKSHMAN

                 CRIMINAL PETITION No. 1107 OF 2021
ORDER:

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

seeking to quash the proceedings in C.C.No.962 of 2020 on

the file of the XIX Additional Metropolitan Magistrate,

Cyberabad at Nampally, against the petitioner/Accused No.2.

The offences alleged against the petitioner are under Sections

272, 273 and 188 of IPC and Section 20 (2) of Cigarette &

Tobacco Product Act, 2003 (for short 'COTPA Act').

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

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

1992 Supp. (1) SCC 335 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 272, 273 and 188 of IPC and

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

in C.C.No.962 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.962 of

2020 on the file of the XIX Additional Metropolitan

Magistrate, Cyberabad at Nampally, are hereby quashed

against the petitioner/Accused.

5. Since the proceedings in C.C.No.962 of 2020 are

quashed, the petitioner is at liberty to file an appropriate

application before the XIX Additional Metropolitan Magistrate,

Cyberabad at Nampally, seeking to 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: 22.02.2021 dv