Balaiah Nagaram And Another v. The State Of Telangana And Another
I
IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA
AT HYDERABAD MONDAY, THE FIFTEENTH DAY OF APRIL TWO THOUSAND AND TWENry FOUR PRESENT THE HONOURABLE SMT JUSTICE K. SUJANA CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 16040F 2023 Between:
1- Balaiah Nagaram, S/o Ramaiah, Aged about 32 years, Occ: Driver, Rl/o Kerelly Village, Dharur Mandal, Vikarabad District.
2. Shetti Shiva Kumar, S/o Shivanandam, Aged about 36 years, Occ: Business, R/o Dharur Village and Mandal, Vikarabad District.
...Petitioners/Accused
AND
1. THE STATE OF TELANGANA, Through Public Prosecutor, High Court for the State of Telangana At Hyderabad.
2. V.CHANDRA MOHAN, Sio Sri Ramalaxman, Aged about 64 years, Occ: Rl Dharur Mandal, Rl/o Saroornagar, Ranga Reddy District.
...Respondents
Petition under Section 482 of Cr.P.C praying that in the circumstances stated in the Memorandum of Grounds of Criminal Petition, the High Court may be pleased to QUASH the proceedings in C.C.No.39O of 2022 on the file of Judicial First Class Magistrate, Vikarabad, at: Vikarabad as the same is untenable either on facts or under law.
l.A. NO: 1OF 2023 Petition under Section 482 of Cr.P.C praying that in the circumstances stated in the Memorandum of Grounds of Criminal Petition, the High Court may be pleased to STAY all further proceedings pursuant to C.C.No.390 of 2022 on the file of Judicial First Class Magistrate, Vikarabad, at Vikarabad including appearance of Petitioners pending disposal of main criminal petition. This Petition coming on for hearing, upon perusing the Memorandum of Grounds of Criminal Petition and upon hearing the arguments of Sri GANESH CHELIMELLA, Advocate for the Petitioner and the Public Prosecutor on behalf of the Respondent No.1 and None Appeared for the Respondent No.1. The Court made the following: ORDER
n THE HONOURABLE SMT. JUSTICE K. SUJANA CRIMINAL PETITION No.1604 of2023 ORDER:
This criminal petition is filed by the petitioner/accused No'1 under Section 482 Cr.P.C, to quash the proceedings in C.C.No.390 of 2022 ot the hle of Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Vikarabad, wherein the petitioners were charged with the offences punishable under Sections 420 IPC and Section 7 of Essential Commodities Act. 2.
The facts of the case are that oo 29.03.2022 at about 10OO hrs the respondent No.2 came to police station, Dharur, along with three mediators about illegal transportation of PDS rice at Dharur village. SI of Police, Dharur ald his staff were conducting vehicle checking at Dharur village and at that time stopped one suspicious vehicle DCM bearing No.AP 28 X 0943. On enquiry the driver of DCM disclosed his name as Nagaram Balaiah and found 151 bags of PDS rice in the DCM and the PDS rice mixed with dice each bag containing 45 kgs. The driver also said that the owner of Manjunatha Kirana shop by name Shetti Shiva Kumar was collecting PDS rice mixed with dice from the card holders from nearby villagers at Dharur mandal for Rs. 1O/- per one kg ald selling the same to Kadtal Poultry farm for Rs. 13/- per one kg for his own profits. On the orders of his owner the driver was loading the PDS rice and illegally transported from Dharur village to Kadtal. The seized total stock is approximately 6800 kgs and
a\l handed over to MLS point, Vikarabad for safe custody. Thereafter the DCM was seized and handed over to the Dharur Police by attesting punch chits, and the complainant requested to take necessary action as per law. Aggrieved by the same, the petitioners Iiled the present criminal petition.
3.
Heard Sri Ch.Ganesh, learned counsel appearing on behalf of petitioners, as well as Sri S. Ganesh, learned Assistant Public Prosecutor appearing on behalf of respondent No. 1. Though notice was served on respondent No.2, none appeared. 4.
Learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that after completion of investigation, charge sheet was fiied and same was numbered as C.C.No.39O of 2022. During investigation, it did not reveal anything except the contentions of respondent No.2, and they gave explanation to Section 41-A Cr.P.C notice and later on a report submitted by Deputy Tahsildar (CS), the Additional Collector, Vikarabad District, taken on record with 6-A case No.A/67/CS/VKB /2022 and notice was issued on 06.04.2022 as per Section 68 of the Essential Commodities Act, to the petitioners/ accused framing charges against them and the rice also was released leqring penalty of Rs.S,OOO/- on the vehicle. 5.
Despite receiving the order from Additional Collector, Vikarabad, the police had prepared charge sheet as petitioner had committed the offence under Section 42O IPC and Section 7 of o*n
.
Essential Commodities Act. The reading of complaint or FIR does not constitute any ingredients of alleged offences' There is no fault of petitioners in transporting the rice bags, but unfortunately on the false complaint raised by the 2"d respondent, the police had implicated the petitioners in the said crime. The vehicle was already released and the stock was released to the owner and therefore there is no point in continuing the case against the petitioners as such prayed to quash the proceedings against them in C.C.No.390 of 2022. 6.
Learned counsel for the petitioners would submit that the rice which is alleged to be PDS rice is tested by authorities and it is broken rice and the broken percent is recorded as 7 O%o in the samples and the broken rice is not issued under PDS and further the vehicle is also released to the owner as per orders of Additional Collector and therefore there is no offence against these petitioners and prayed the Court to quash the proceedings.
7 .
On the other hand, learned Assistant Public Prosecutor filed written instructions and in the said instructions, it is said that I I I investigation is completed and charge sheet was hled and the vehicle was released to the owners and the alleged PDS rice is not broken rice it is 70% broken rice and it was released to the owners as per the orders of Additional Collector.
8.
Having regard to the rival submissions and material on record, the charge sheet averments shows that accused Nos.l and 2
a) were indulged in clandestine business and they were selling PDS rice and they were transporting PDS rice illegally from Dharur village to Kadtal and they are selling for Rs.13/- per kg. Whereas the submissions of learned counsel for the petitioners and learned Assistant Public Prosecutor shows that the alleged PDS rice is broken rice and there is 7 Oo/o broken rice and broken rice is not issued to PDS as such when the main allegation is that they are transporting PDS rice but they were transporting broken rice, therefore the allegations against the petitioners are base,less and continuation of the same does not serve any purpose and it is nothing but abuse of process of law. In view of the sarne, the proceedings against the petitioner/ accused No.1 in C.C.No.390 of 2022 on the hle of Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Vikarabad, are hereby quashed. 10.
Accordingly, the petition 1S partly allowed. Miscellaneous applications, if any pending, shall also stand closed. SD/- V.KAVITHA ASSISTANT REGISTRAR //TRUE COPY// SECTION OFFICER To, 1 . The Judicial First Class Magistrate, Vikarabad '
2. The Station House Officer, Dharur Police Station' Vikarabad District'
3. Two CCs to the public Prosecutor, High court for the State of Telangana at Hyderabad. [OUT]
4. One CC to Sri GANESH CHELIMELLA, Advocate [OPUC]
5. Two CD Copies PSR C}JL
( t HIGH COURT SKS,J DATED:1510412024
ORDER
GRLP.No.1604 ot 2023 e T ) ( 2[2q TN o ^t i t Dss p;o1C ALLOWING THE CRIMINAL PETITION.
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