THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE G.KRISHNA MOHAN REDDY
CRIMINAL PETITION No.3596 of 2010
17-8-2012
The Manager, M/s ITC Ltd., Kakinada.
State of A.P., rep. by P.P. & another.
Counsel for the Petitioner: Sri C.R.SRIDHARAN
Counsel for the Respondent No.1: The Public Prosecutor
Counsel for the Respondent No.2 : Ms. K.LALITHA, S.C. for Agr.Mrkt.Comt.
< Gist:
> Head Note:
? Cases referred:
ORDER:
This petition is filed seeking to quash proceedings in C.C.No.373 of 2009
on the file of the Court of Judicial Magistrate of First Class-cum- Special
Mobile Magistrate at Kakinada.
The petitioner is the accused and the second respondent is the complainant
in the calendar case. For the sake of convenience, I refer the parties as
arrayed in the calendar case.
The case of the complainant is that the accused is doing business of
purchasing, processing, storaging, weighing and selling notified commodities
i.e. paddy or rice within the notified market area of the Agricultural Market
Committee, Kakinada. He obtained licence to do that business for the period of
2004-2005. He became liable to pay market fee @ 1% on their purchase value as
per Section 12(1) of the Andhra Pradesh (Agricultural Produce and Live Stock)
Markets Act, 1966 and as amended by Act 4 of 1987 and the rules and bye-laws
made thereunder, and basing on the account books and other records filed by the
accused, the assessing authority i.e. Selection Grade Secretary, Market
Committee, Kakinada assessed the market fee dues and issued assessment order
dated 14.10.2005 demanding the accused to pay market fee of RS.57,36,209/- for
the period of 2004-2005 in respect of procuring agricultural products from
outside into the market area. According to the complainant, in spite of issuing
the assessment order, the accused did not pay the market fee, thereby the
accused is liable for punishment under Section 23(1) of the Act. Admittedly the
assessment order was set aside by the Commissioner and Director of
Marketing/Revisional Authority in Revision Petition No.SI(1)516/2008 dated
22.7.2008.
The question involved in this petition is as to whether the prosecution of
the charge would survive though the assessment order dated 14.10.2005 passed by
the Secretary, Agricultural Market Committee, Kakinada was set aside by the
competent authority i.e. the Commissioner and Director of Marketing/Revisional
Authority in Revision Petition No.SI(1)516/2008 dated 22.7.2008.
Significantly, the prosecution of the petitioner/accused was launched by
the Secretary, Agricultural Market Committee, Kakinada under the said provision
of law on the ground that the petitioner/accused failed to pay the relevant
market fee as per the assessment order for procuring agricultural products from
outside to the market area at Kakinada. Crl.M.P.No.742 of 2008 was filed before
the Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Special Mobile Magistrate at Kakinada
for discharge consequent upon setting aside the assessment order by the
competent authority. Learned Magistrate dismissed the application vide order
dated 10.3.2010 on the ground that after framing the corresponding charge, there
was no occasion to entertain the matter till the commencement and conclusion of
the trial of the case.
Learned counsel for the petitioner/accused would contend that when once
the assessment order was set aside, the question of prosecution does not survive
at all and therefore the observations made by the learned Magistrate are not
tenable.
The question of prosecution is subject to the survival of the assessment
order. When once the assessment order is set aside, the question of prosecution
does not survive at all. When it is clear that the prosecution does not
survive, the question of procedural stage to entertain the matter looses its
ground or need not be entertained. Therefore, the observation of the learned
Magistrate that as there was no stage to entertain the application and the
matter could be disposed of only by the ultimate trial is not tenable.
In the result, the petition is allowed quashing the proceedings as prayed
for.
_________________________
G.KRISHNA MOHAN REDDY, J
Date: 17.8.2012
