Some of the petitioners are Cabaret dancers and others are managers of restaurants. Against them various cases were registered, investigated and charge-sheeted in different Courts by different investigating agencies for offences punishable under sections 294(a) and 114 of the Indian Penal Code. The general allegation in all the cases is that inside posh hotels nude and obscene dances and other cabaret performances were conducted. All these petitions are to quash those proceedings invoking the inherent jurisdiction of this Court. I have heard counsel for petitioners and the Director of Public Prosecutions.

2. Courts holding inquiry or trial under the Criminal Procedure Code are invested with ample powers to dispense with the ordeal of full trial in appropriate cases. A Magistrate conducting an inquiry into a complaint under S. 202 can dismiss the complaint at the inquiry stage itself if he is of opinion that there is no sufficient ground for proceeding. The power of discharge under S. 227 and the provision for discharge under S. 245 are examples of identical instances. An investigating agency is also having the discretion to decide whether the materials collected are suff