Devari Gopal vs The State Of Telangana
2021 Latest Caselaw 2109 Tel

        THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE K. LAKSHMAN

          CRIMINAL PETITION No.5417 OF 2021

ORDER:

This petition is filed under Section - 482 of the Code of

Criminal Procedure, 1973 to quash the proceedings in Crime

No.631 of 2021 pending on the file of Kukatpally Police

Station, Cyberabad. The petitioner herein is sole accused in

the said crime. The offences alleged against him are under

Sections - 188, 273 and 268 of IPC and Section 59(1) of Food

Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (for short 'FSS Act')

2. Heard Mr. Srinivas Reddy Balakisti, learned counsel for

the petitioner and the learned Assistant Public Prosecutor

appearing on behalf of respondent - State.

3. This Court, by common order dated 05.07.2021 in Crl.P.

No.152 of 2020 and batch, has extensively dealt with the

issue covered in the present criminal petition observing that

transportation, possession, storage, sale and purchase of

tobacco products are not totally banned in the State of

Telangana and, therefore, it cannot be said that offences

under Sections - 188, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272 and 273, 328,

336 and 420 of IPC are attracted to the petitioners therein.

4. With regard to offences under Section - 59(1) of the FSS

Act, this Court in the said common order dated 05.07.2021,

relying on the judgments in Chidurala Shyamsubder v.

State of Telangana1 and State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal2,

held that the police are incompetent to take cognizance of the

offences punishable under Sections - 54 and 59 (1) of the FSS

Act, investigate into the offences along with other offences

under the provisions of the IPC and that filing charge sheet is

a grave illegality, as the Food Safety Officer alone is

competent to investigate and to file charge sheet following the

Rules laid down under Sections - 41 and 42 of FSS Act. It

was further held that entertaining the complaints / filing the

charge sheets by the police is contrary to the principle laid

down in Chidurala Shyamsubder's case (supra). Observing

so, this Court quashed the proceedings against the accused

therein for the offence under Section - 59 (1) of FSS Act.

5. In the present case also, the allegations against the

petitioner are that he was transporting and selling the banned

tobacco products and the contents of the complaint do not

attract the ingredients of offences mentioned above and that

the police are incompetent to investigate into the offence

under Section 59 (1) of FSS Act along with other offences.

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

1992 Supp. (1) SCC 335

Therefore, the proceedings against the petitioner in the above

crime are also liable to be quashed.

6. The present Criminal Petition is accordingly allowed in

terms of the common order dated 05.07.2021 in Crl.P.No.152

of 2020 and batch and the proceedings in Crime No.631 of

2021 pending on the file of Kukatpally Police Station,

Cyberabad, against the petitioner - accused are hereby

quashed.

7. Since the proceedings are quashed against the

petitioner in the above crime, the Station House Officer,

Kukatpally Police Station, is hereby directed to return the

seized property to the petitioner on proper identification and

verification of ownership under due acknowledgment.

As a sequel, miscellaneous petitions, if any, pending in

the criminal petition shall stand closed.

__________________ K. LAKSHMAN, J Date: 15.07.2021 TJMR