Heard the learned counsel for the petitioners and the learned State Public Prosecutor.

2. Petitioners are before this Court in the following circumstances:

It is alleged that on 19.3.2016, information is said to have been received by the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime), Bangalore City informing that on 15.3.2016, within the limits of Kakinada Town Police Station of Andhra Pradesh, two persons from Namibia and Cameroon respectively, had cheated two businessmen dealing in Gold and had defrauded him of Rs.50,00,000/- and that it was suspected that they were now in the Bangalore City. This had been conveyed by the Deputy Commissioner of Police to the Police Inspector of the Central Crime Bureau, Bangalore City and then they were on the look out for the suspected persons, who are found to be staying in Room No.205 of Rialto Hotel, near Race Course, Sheshadripuram, Bangalore. The said police Inspector along with his men had conducted a raid on the room in which they were staying. On search of their belongings and their person it is alleged that the Police Officer found some reprinted U.S.Dollars and other currency notes of other countries. Also Indian currency notes of Rs.1,000/- which had been printed on A4 sheets numbering 75 and printing materials were also said to have been seized along with Rs.9 lakh in cash which is said to be part of the money defrauded from the gold businessman of Kakinada Town and also some fake passports which are in the name of Namibia and Ghana nationals. A few mobile phones were also said to have been seized. The seizure was said to have been made in the presence of Panchas and thereafter the petitioners were arrested and they were taken into custody on a suo motu report and lodged the same before the Station House Officer of the first respondent Upparpet Police Station, Bangalore City on 20.3.2016 at about 12.00 noon, upon which, First Information Report in Crime No.94/2016 for the offences punishable under Sections 21(C) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, 1946 and under Section 120B, Section 34 and 489C of the Indian Penal Code, as well as under Section 14(a) and (b) of the Foreigners Act, 1946 as well as under Sections 468, 489A, 489B and 471 of the Indian Penal Code and under Section 12(1)(B) of the Passport Act, 1967 was lodged. The petitioners were produced before the Magistrate and remanded to judicial custody and they have been in judicial custody since 20.3.2016. It is in this background that the present petition is filed.

3. The petitioners seek quashing of the entire proceedings, since the initial act of raid conducted on the room aforementioned was within the limits of Upparpet police station, where incriminating material is alleged to have been seized from the petitioners. Since the raid was apparently conducted to apprehend the petitioners, on information from the Andhra State police, they had no jurisdiction to conduct the raid unless they had obtained prior permission from the Investigating Officer who had already investigated the case registered against them in respect of the incident in Kakinada Town. Secondly, it is contended, that there could not have been a case registered for the several offences alleged in Bangalore City, when the raid conducted was in pursuance of the investigation being conducted by the Andhra Police in respect of a case registered before the Kakinada police station and therefore lodging of a second F.I.R. in relation to the same alleged offences is impermissible and on that ground he would submit that insofar as the proceedings initiated at Bangalore City ought to be quashed and at best the petitioners could be handed over to the Andhra Police to be prosecuted in accordance with law. This is the theme of the several grounds urged in the petition.

4. The learned State Public Prosecutor on the other hand would raise a contention that it may not be correct to characterize the F.I.R. lodged