Shaik Tajuddin vs The State Of Telangana
2021 Latest Caselaw 715 Tel

               THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE K.LAKSHMAN

                  CRIMINAL PETITION No.1482 of 2021

ORDER:

This Criminal Petition is filed under Section 482 of

Cr.P.C. to quash the proceedings in C.C.No.456 of 2020,

pending on the file of Judicial First Class Magistrate at

Manuguru, Bhadradri-Kothagudem District. The offences

alleged against the petitioners 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

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

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.456 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.456 of

2020, pending on the file of Judicial First Class Magistrate at

Manuguru, Bhadradri-Kothagudem District, are hereby

quashed against the petitioner/accused No.2.

5. Since the proceedings in C.C.No.456 of 2020 are

quashed against the petitioner/accused No.2, the petitioner is

at liberty to file appropriate application for return of seized

property i.e., 108 packets of Amber, 25 packets of Goa

gutkha, 30 packets of Vimal tobacco and 30 packets of V1

gutka, all worth of Rs.51,400/- to the petitioner 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: 05.03.2021 TJMR