Telangana High Court
Engala Rajkar Reddy And 3 Others vs Sub Inspector Of Police And ... on 19 January, 2021
Bench: K.Lakshman
THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE K. LAKSHMAN
CRIMINAL PETITION No.6648 OF 2020
ORDER:
This petition is filed under Section 482 of Cr.P.C.,
seeking to quash the order dated 29.10.2020 in
Crl.M.P.No.524 of 2020 in Crime No.77 of 2020 on the file of
Judicial Magistrate of First Class at Zaheerabad and also to
return Amber Tobacco products seized in Crime No.77 of
2020 by Hadnoor Police Station, Sangareddy District.
2. Petitioners Nos.1 to 3 are accused Nos.1 to 3 in the said
Crime. Petitioner No.4 is the owner of the property seized in
the said Crime. The offences alleged against petitioner Nos.1
to 3/accused Nos.1 to 3 are under Sections 270 and 273 of
IPC and Section 20(2) of Cigarettes and Other Tobacco
Products Act, 2003 (for short, COTPA Act). Petitioner No.4,
being the owner of the seized property, filed Crl.M.P.No.524 of
2020 in Crime No.77 of 2020 before the Court below seeking
to release the seized property i.e., 30 bags of Amber Tobacco.
The Court below, by order dated 29.10.2020, dismissed the
said application on the ground that since this Court
suspended the notification No.501/FSS-1/2020, dated
06.01.2020 issued by the Government, the matter is
subjudiced before this Court and hence, releasing the seized
property does not arise.
3. Heard Sri K.Surender, learned counsel for the
petitioners and learned Public Prosecutor. Perused the
record.
4. The learned counsel for the petitioners as well as the
learned Assistant Public Prosecutor would submit that the
subject matter is squarely covered by a judgment 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.
5. 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,
whereas, in the present case, the Police have registered the
crime for the offences under Sections 270 and 273 of IPC and
Section 20(2) of the COTPA Act.
Crl.P.No.3731 of 2018 & batch, decided on 27.08.2018
1992 Supp. (1) SCC 335
6. In view of the above, the impugned order dated
29.10.2020 in Crl.M.P.No.524 of 2020 in Crime No.77 of 2020
passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate of First Class at
Zaheerabad, is quashed. The Station House Officer, Hadnoor
Police Station, Sangareddy District, is directed to release the
seized property i.e., 30 bags of Amber Tobacco to petitioner
No.4 on verifying the documents with regard to ownership of
the said property.
7. Accordingly, the Criminal Petition is allowed.
Miscellaneous petitions pending, if any, in this Criminal
Petition, shall stand closed.
__________________
K. LAKSHMAN, J
Date: 19.01.2021
TJMR
