Telangana High Court
Akkenapally Shiva Teja vs The State Of Telangana on 7 June, 2024
THE HONOURABLE SMT JUSTICE K. SUJANA
CRIMINAL PETITION No.4347 OF 2024
ORDER:
This Criminal Petition is filed under Section 482 of the
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short 'Cr.P.C.') to quash
the proceedings against the petitioners/accused Nos.1 to 4 in
PRC.No.23 of 2023 pending on the file of the Principal Judicial
Magistrate of First Class, at Bhongir, registered for the offences
punishable under Sections 9 (B) (i) (b) of the Explosives Act
1884 (for short 'Act 1884') and Section 5 of the Explosive
Substances Act, 1908 (for short 'Act, 1908').
2. The brief facts of the case are that the respondent
No.2/de facto complainant lodged a complaint stating that on
receipt of credible investigation, along with his staff, he raided
M/s. Vishanath Agencies and found two rooms with RCC roof
wherein, 50 kgs and 25 kgs of Ammonium Nitrate bags were
stored without any fire safety precautions. The owner of the said
agency recorded his confession in the presence of two mediators
whereunder, he stated that his father has been doing the
business of Ammonium Nitrate since 20 years and has
established the said company for which in accordance with the
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guidelines of Ammonium Nitrate Rules - 2012 he also holds
license vide No.A/HQ/TG/P3/76 (A2152) obtained in the year
2017 from the Chief Contractor of Explosives, Nagpur. Further,
his go down storage capacity is 400 metric tons i.e., four lakhs
kgs but he has purchased excess material and stored the same
in his go down illegally without taking proper precautionary
measures for the purpose of supplying the same to the needy
dealers.
3. Heard Sri B.Chandrasen Reddy, learned senior counsel
representing Sri B.Vamshidhar Reddy, learned counsel for the
petitioner/accused, and Sri S.Ganesh, learned Assistant Public
Prosecutor, appearing for the respondents - State.
4. Learned senior counsel for the petitioner submitted that
the petitioner holds a valid license bearing No.A/HQ/TG/T3/76
(2152) under Ammonium Nitrate Rules, 2012 for the purpose of
possession and sale of Ammonium Nitrate, and the said license
is valid till 31.03.2022. He asserted that as on the date of raid
i.e., 29.10.2019 the petitioner has already made an application
dated 07.10.2019 requesting to grant him permission to
increase the capacity of storage of Ammonium Nitrate from 400
metric tones to 600 metric tons and the same is pending
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approval. He contended that the Police, in collusion with the
local competitors have falsely implicated the petitioner in the
present case with an intention to ruin his professional image.
Therefore, prayed this Court to quash the proceedings against
the petitioner.
5. On the other hand, the learned Assistant Public
Prosecutor submitted that the averments of the complaint would
show that the petitioner stored 50 kgs and 25 kgs of Ammonium
Nitrate bags in his go down without any safety precautions. He
contended that the same can be used for anti social elements
like maoists, extremists, terrorists and factionists. He reiterated
that there are serious allegations levelled against the petitioner,
as such, the matter requires trial. Therefore, prayed the Court to
dismiss the petition.
6. Having regard to the rival submissions made and on going
through the material placed on record, it is pertinent to note that
to quash the proceedings under Section 482 of Cr.P.C, the Court
has to see whether the averments in the complaint prima facie
shows that it constitute the offence against the accused persons,
as alleged by the Police.
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7. That being so, it is imperative to note the judgment of the
Hon'ble Supreme Court in State of Madhya Pradesh vs.
Surendra Kori 1, wherein in paragraph No.14 it is held as
follows:
"The High Court in exercise of its powers under
Section 482 Cr.P.C. does not function as a Court
of appeal or revision. This Court has, in several
judgments, held that the inherent jurisdiction
under Section 482 Cr.P.C., though wide, has to
be used sparingly, carefully and with caution.
The High Court, under Section 482 Cr.P.C.,
should normally refrain from giving a prima facie
decision in a case where the entire facts are
incomplete and hazy, more so when the evidence
has not been collected and produced before the
Court and the issues involved, whether factual
or legal, are of wide magnitude and cannot be
seen in their true perspective without sufficient
material."
8. In the present case, though the petitioner/accused
contends that he holds a valid license for possessing and storing
Ammonium Nitrate and that he has also made a representation
to the authorities to increase the capacity of storage from 400
(2012) 10 Supreme Court Cases 155
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metric tones to 600 metric tones, this Court is of the opinion
that the same cannot be a ground to quash the proceedings
initiated against him. Admittedly, the petitioner has stored more
quantity of ammonium nitrate than the permission granted to
him. Though it is contended that the petitioner has given a
representation to store the excess quantity of ammonium
nitrate, it is seen that before the said representation was
accepted, he has stored excess quantity of ammonium nitrate in
his godown that was beyond its capacity. Further, the Hon'ble
Supreme Court in the case of Ajay Kumar Das Vs. State of
Jharkhand and Others 2 has observed that the genuineness of
the allegations raised is an issue to be tried and the Court in
exercise of jurisdiction under Section 482 of Cr.P.C., cannot
delve into such factual controversies so as to quash the
proceedings.
9. In view of the above discussion and having regard to the
law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in State of
Madhya Pradesh (supra), this Court is of the opinion that the
matter requires full-fledged trial and there are no merits in the
criminal petition to quash the proceedings against the
petitioner/accused and the same is liable to be dismissed.
(2011) 12 SCC 319
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10. Accordingly, the criminal petition is dismissed.
Miscellaneous applications, if any pending, shall also
stand closed.
_______________
K. SUJANA, J
Date:07.06.2024
PT
