ORDER

Vikramaditya Prasad, J. - This application under Section 482, Cr.P.C. has been filed for quashing the FIR of Jharia (Tisra) P.S. Case No. 49/2001 pending in the Court of Chief Judicial. Magistrate, Dhanbad, and all the proceedings therein, besides any order that the Court deems fit and proper;

2. On 2.2.2001, the Officer-in-charge, Lodna Out-post, received an information that water-logging in Seam No. 7 of Bagdig Colliery started taking place and the officers and workmen were trapped inside the Mine. He registered a Sanha No. 28 dated 2.2.2001 and he along with the Sub-Inspector and policeman went to the colliery. There he heard from the assembled angry persons that the Officers have put the lives of workmen in danger. There were fractional activities for the rescue work. He also came to know that in the Bagdigi Colliery No. 7 Seam had broken and water was entering in the Mine very fast and barring 30-35 persons rest of the persons came out of the Mine safely. Mter sometime, Halim Mian, Haugage Khalashi, Bhojram Bilaspuri, Md. Jalil, Fitter, came out of the Mine and they also stated the same story and narrated about the water sippage. They had also informed the Manager, Assistant Colliery Manager that 30 more person were trapped inside the Mine due to heavy rush of water. On 5.2.2001, Drivers recovered the dead-body of Cable man Pritam Singh and the rescue operation was still continuine. The Officer-in-charge received further information that due to excess cutting of coal, water sippage has increased and that information was given to the Agent AK. Sengupta, General Manager Sri Shrivastava, Area Safety Manager AK. Gupta, Safety Officer of Bagdigi Colliery, Mining Sardar, Over man and others persons. In spite of that no safety arrangements were made and deliberately continued the coal mining. The officers of M/s. B.C.C.L. and officers of Director General Mines Safety were blamed for the death of the workmen. On the basis of the aforesaid information. the Officer-in-Charge instituted the FIR against the General Manager, Safety Officer, Agent, Assistant Manager, Mining Sardar, Overman and Officer responsible for safety of Bagdigi Colliery under Section 304/34, IPC read with Section 72(C) of the Mines Act. 1956 as also Regulations 127/128 of the Mines Regulations, 1961, vide Annexure-1.

3. Though in the FIR the aforesaid petitioner AK. Sengupta has been described as the Agent of the said Colliery but in the petition A.K. Sengupta has not disclosed his identity as the Agent, rather he has stated in that column that he resides at Agent's Bunglow.

4. The petitioners's case is that though the Officer-in-Charge has filed the case, the petitioner has been falsely implicated. There was a big hierarchy from lower level upto the level of the Agent in the Bagdigi Colliery and the Open Cast Projects and the agent of Bagdigi Colliery has a number of officials working under him. The Agent of Bagdigi Colliery had to maintain the liaison with the Area and the Colliery and he has also to maintain industrial relations with the operating unions at unit level arrange to procure materials for safety and production as is requisitioned by the Manager from time to time to look into financial management, inventory control and he had also to deal with different technical matters with DGMS. It is the further case of the petitioner that the B.C.C.L. is the owner of the Bagdigi Colliery and the mining operations in the said colliery have been exclusively done as per the provisions of the Mines Act and the Coal Mines Regulations. 1957 and the Colliery Officials of the said colliery had been performing their duties in accordance with law and said Colliery was under the charge of the Agent under whom a number of personnel of different disciplines including the Mining Personnels used to work. On the fateful day the Colliery was under the charge I of Manager. Asstt. Colliery Manager including the Overman and Mining Sardars. Short Firer etc. for underground m