The High Court · 2025

Petition under section 528 of BNSS praying that in the circumstances stated in the Memorandum of Grounds of criminal Petition, the High court may be pi"r..O to quash the proceedings in FIR NO 395 of 2025 on the file of bnritrnyrprri Police Station, Rachakonda District against the Petitioner l.A. NO: 2OF 2025 PetitionunderSection52SofBNSSprayingthatinthecircumstances stated in the Memorandum of Grounds of criminal Petition,the High court may be pleasedtodirecttherespondents/ChaitanyapuriPoliceStation,Rachakonda bi.tri"t to release the property 1) Shikhar pan Masala (42x32 Pouches=1344 Pouches)' 3) Raj Niwas por"n".l 2) SS one Tobacco (42x32 Pouche:= .1144 iliisi:'b+i Pouches), 4) RM-01 Zarrani zarda (17x32= 544 Pouches)' 5) RR .an lr,trtrt (52x7O= 3640 pouches; and RR Gold Chewing Tobacco (52x7o=-36.4o p"r"n*i s'"ired in FIR tto. ggs of 2025 On the fite of chaitanyapuri Police Station, Rachakonda District in favor of the petitioner/Accused This Petition coming on for hearing,upon perusing the Memorandum of Grounds of Criminal Petition and upon hearing the arguments of Sri Y BALA MURALI ,Advocate for the Petitioner and Sri JITHENDER RAO VEERAMALLA' Additional Public Prosecutor on behalf of the Respondent '1' The Court made the following ORDER: TiJt: HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE N.TUKAFIAMJi CRIM!NAL PETITION No. 6144 OF 2o2!; ORDER This rl.rninar Petition is fired under section t2B tf Bharatiya Nagarik Surerl<r;ha Sanhita, 2023 (for short ,BNSS, i20i;t3,) seeking quashment or'the proceedings, against the petitioner n C-ime No.395 of 2025 on the file of the chaitanyapuri police statiorr, rlachakonda District.

2. The perili,ne:r is sore accused in crime No.3g5 of 2o2s registered for the offenr;,:s punishabre under sections 2r4, 27t c:f Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhit=, 2023 (for short ,BNS, 2023,) and Se:tion 2O(2) of COTPA Act.

3. Heard lrlr Y.Bala Murali, learned counsel for the: per:itioner and Mr.Jithender R.,r Veeramaila, rearned Additionar pubric F,rosecutor, for the responderrl i.lo. j -State.

4. The pror;eculion case in brief is that the petition,3dr16su5s6 15 involved in sell i.q and purchasing the banned robacco pr,)ducts and the Police .on :e rnerd has seized the said robacco producrs from his Tossession. (-J 2 NT&/ Crl.P.N0.6l44 of 2025

5. Learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that a Coordinate BenchofthisCourtvldeCriminalPetitionNos'3731andBatch'on considering similar allegations and the merits quashed the proceedings against the petitioners therein. He further submits that the 2nd respondent has registered the present crime in violation of the orders passed by this Court. Hence, prayed for quashment ofthe proceedings against the Petitioner.

6. Learned Additional Public Prosecutor would submit that the petitioner has been found with the Tobacco products and investigation is pending. However fairly admitted that in the authority cited by the petitioners in the similar circumstances, the proceedings against the petitioners therein were quashed. 7 I have perused the materials on record

8. As per the prosecution, on 25'04'2025 at 14'00 hours' the complainanUsub lnspector of Police lodged a complaint alleging that the petitioner is running a kirana shop at H'No'1-6-529' Near Ramalayam, lndira Nagar, Medchal-Malkajgiri District' and retailing tobacco products by procuring from unknown persons in Begum Bazaar and seized tobacco products 1)Shikhar Pan Masala (42x32 Pouches = 1344pouches),2)SSoneTobacco(42x32=1344pouches)'3)Raj Niwas (17x32=544 pouches), 4) RM-01 Zafrani Zarda glz{-s+u 3 Nlr&/ t t i.l No5t41 oJ2025 pouches), 5) ;R man Masal (52x70=3640 pouches) ard RR Gold Chewing lob;llco (52x70=3640 pouches) from the possession of the petitioner t nrj, r' the cover of panchanama.

9. It is t)ertinent to note that the relatec Notification No.501/FSS/l/2(r22 dated 07.01.2022, prohibiting rna,rufacturing, storing, distribrrtion transportation and sale of gutka an<i oarr masala in the entire Statr: lf I'elangana, has been stayed by the Horr,b,e Supreme court of lndier irr shri venkateshwara Traders v. state of relangana and others vr<i: S[.A No.20441 ot 2021 with SLp(C) No. 1656 of 2022. Thereafter, th. Director General of police, Telangan:r Srate issued circular Memr:';:rdrrm in RC.No. 295/R1-NS/2022 with crirec,iions to the station Houser offic=rs not to interfere with the business activities, who carry out the : t rsirress as per rures of Food safety and standards Authority of lrrc ia and also not to take any coercive measrires against the tobacco trraJerrs as long as the order of the Hon'ble srrpreme court is in force. '

10. Havinr] r.:arc to simirar factuar position in the crirninar petition relied on by the petirioner vide crr.p.No.6235 ot 2022 herc that against the allegations r:i illegal sale and transportation of tobacco pr:>ducts the ,accusations unrier Siections 188, 26g, 2lO, 272, 273, il7B,32B read I I CrlP.No.6111 of 2025 .I-I \l with Sections 51 1,336,409 and 420 of l-P.C., can not be maintained and quashed the proceedings against the petitioners therein

11. ln the instant petition, the prosecution for possession and allegation of sale arraigned the offences under Sections 274,275 of BNS, 2023 and 2O(2) of COTPA as noted above, the conclusions drawn in the earlier criminal petition are squarely measuring up the predicament in the present petition, for that reason, the proceedings against the petitioner stands unsustainable. Accordingly, this criminal Petition deserves positive consideration.

12. Resultantly, the Criminal Petition is allowed. The proceedings against the petitioner/accused in Crime No'395 of 2025 of Chaitanyapuri Police Station, Rachakonds District, are hereby quashed' Pending miscellaneous applications, if any' shall stand closed SD/- AHMED ABDULLAH KHAN AS ISTANT REGISTRAR /ITRUE COPY// SECTION OFFICER To, -l . The lV Additional Metropolitan Magistrate cum lV Rachakonda CJ at L.B.Nagar,

2.TheSub-lnspectorofPolice,ChaitanyapuriPoliceStation'RachakondaDist 3. Sri Jithender Rao Veeramalla, Addl Public Prosecutor' [OUT] 4. Two CCs to Public Prosecutor, High Court for the State of Telangana at Hyderabad(OUT)

5. One CC to SRl. Y. BALA MURALI Advocate [OPUC] 6. Two CD CoPies kulig h a- I j ;l HIGH COURT DATED:01/05/20tt,5 a I i;r-n -' -\'. ,,4 $f I e : :s n l'\ [1 ,. \ '\ ; .! ,. ORDER CRL.PETIT|ON No (i t44 ot 2O2S ALLOWING THB (.]t ,i]I ITION 4c"flt'L &-