The court upheld that a prima facie case under Section 304 IPC exists due to negligence leading to a worker's death, and the FIR cannot be quashed at this stage.

JUDGMENT :

(J.C. DOSHI, J.)

1. By way of this application under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the applicants have prayed to quash and set aside the FIR being C.R.No.I-11213015201170 of 2020 registered with Gondal City Police Station, District Rajkot Rural for the offences under Sections 304 and 114 of Indian Penal Code and all the consequential proceedings arising therefrom qua the present applicants.

2. Relief claimed in the application reads as under :-

"(A) Your Lordships may be pleased to admit and allow this application;

(B) Your Lordships may be pleased to quash and set aside the impugned FIR being C.R. No. 1-11213015201170 of 2020 registered with Gondal City Police Station, Dist.: Rajkot Rural, dated 18.08.2020 for the offence punishable under Sections 304 and 114 of the Indian Penal Code, investigation thereon and all consequential proceedings arising out of the FIR;

(C) Pending admission, hearing and final disposal of the present petition, Your Lordships may be pleased to stay the proceedings of C.R. No. 1-11213015201170 of 2020 registered with Gondal City Police Station, Dist.: Rajkot Rural, dated 18.08.2020 for the offence punishable under Sections 304 and 114 of the Indian Penal Code, investigation thereon and consequential proceedings arising out of the FIR;

(D) Your Lordships may be pleased to grant such other and further relief/s that may be deemed fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case"

3. Factual narration in brief leading to filing of petition are as under :-

3.1. It is case of the prosecution inter alia alleging that the present applicants original accused being partners of one Donga Biofuel Factory, since the factory is in manufacturing of Biodiesel by resorting to dangerous process undertaken by them, in such a work and a process to be undertaken within the factory premises with the help of labour, it is alleged that the present applicants being partners of the said factory have been responsible in not providing any sort of training to the workers as also procuring a work permit under the factory premises, in absence of necessary fire safety measures and in absence of a technical expert as expected to remain physically present at the factory premises; they have been negligent as partners of the said factory by not installing flame proof electrification system and/or first aid fire fighting system, in seeing to it that a dangerous process is undertaken without even a deep pipe applied over the storage tank as and when a dangerous material is being transferred overhead nor any safety wall is kept in a near periphery of the said storage tank, on account of such negligence only, one worker namely Pratapbhai Gopalbhai Bamaniya, on account of a source of spark flair up near a vent pipe, a flammable atmosphere was created because of which the deceased Pratapbhai was thrown out of the top of the storage tank because of the pressure applied and eventually passed away on account of such accident. Hence, FIR is registered under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code as against all the partners of the Donga Biofuel Factory.

4. Learned advocate Mr.Pratik Barot for the applicants putting FIR in microscopic analysis submitted that the petitioners who are partners of Donga Biofuel Factory, in which, accident took place resulting into death of employee / labourer - Pratapbhai Bamaniya, were not physically present at the time of accident. He would submit that in FIR offence under section 304 of IPC has been alleged against the applicants but on plain reading of FIR, what could be noticed that during process of preparing final bio fuel, accident took place in the factory due to which boiler was exposed, having ultimate result of unfortunate death of labourer. However, in such circumstances, more particularly, for accident which took place in factory premises, offence under section 304 of IPC cannot be attracted to the applicants as either intention or knowledge which are essential ingredients to