( 1 ) WALAYATI Ram and Gulshan Kumar, father and son, applied to the Civil Supply Department of Delhi Administration lor the allotment of a Fair Price Shop. Their application was considered and sanctioned by the Department. They started their business in the name and style of M/s Walayati Ram Gulshan Kumar at premises No. 387, Bhola Nath Nagar, Shahdara, Delhi.

( 2 ) DURING the course of routine checking, on 22-3-1983, Shri M. I. Ansari, Inspector, Enforcement Branch of Food and Supplies Department, alongwith other members of the staff, visited the premises, i. e. the petitioners Fair Price Shop and on checking found that on 11-3-1983, two quintals, thirty two Kilograms and five hundred grams of R. B. D. Palm Oil in 15 tins and on 17-8-1983, two quantuls, 32 Kilograms and five hundred grams of rape-seed oil were issued to the Shop in 15 tins for which the petitioner bad not made any entry in their stock register. On the basis of said checking the Inspector lodged the report with the police under Section 7/10/55 of the Essential Commodities Act, which was registered as F. I. R. No 101, dated 24-3-1983 at Police Station Farsh Bazar, Delhi.

( 3 ) IN consequence of the filing of the said complaint, the licence of the petitioners shop was suspended vide order dated 26-31983. Later on the Assistant Commissioner of the Food and Civil Supplies Department cancelled the Fair Price Shop on 20-4-1983 with immediate effect.

( 4 ) THE petitioner being aggrieved of the order of suspension, filed an appeal before the Assistant Commissioner but the same was rejected. However, their appeal before the Commissioner of Food and Civil Supplies was accepted on 21-6-1983 and the cancellation of the Fair Price Shop was set aside, the licence was restored and thereafter the petitioners started carrying their business regularly.

( 5 ) DURING the pendency of the cancellation of the Fair Price Shop, the investigation in the complaint was completed and a challan was filed in the Court of Shri S R. Goel, Additional Sessions Judge, Shahdara, Delhi. The said Court issued notice to the petitioner, a charge was framed and the case was fixed for recording the prosecution evidence, which is still pending.

( 6 ) AFTER the petitioners were exonerated of the default by the department which was the basis of the filing of the complaint before the Sessions Judge, the petitioners filed a petition in this Court under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr, M (M) 132/84) for the quashing of the proceedings pending in the lower court. This Court, however, directed the petitioners to first apply and raise this plea before the lower court. Accordingly, an application was filed but the same was dismissed vide order dated 8-3-1985. This very order is under challenge in the present petition.

( 7 ) THE contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner in brief is that, to start with, the criminal proceedings were initiated against the petitioners for the contravention of Section 7/10/55 of the Essential Commodities Act, inasmuch as they had committed irregularities in the distrbution of rape-seed oil and R B. D. Palm oil. This was on the report of the department. However, after his appeal was accepted by the Commissioner, Food and Civil Supplies, Delhi Admn. , the very basis of the complaint on board. His further submission is that once the Department has come to the conclusion that the petitioner had maintained regular stock register regarding the distribution of the rape-seed and pal moil to the ration card holders, the the petitioners cannot be held liable for criminal offence. Hence it is a fit case for quashingg the proceedings pending in the trial court, and the discharge of the accused persons.

( 8 ) THE State has opposed the application. According to the learned counsel, once the proceedings have been initiated and are pending adjudication, the same cannot be quashed unless and until a thorough probe is made by the Court.

( 9 ) AFTER h