The main legal point established in the judgment is the distinct nature of offences under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 and the Indian Penal Code, and the authority of the police to register a case and investigate the same.

1. Heard Mr. Mahesh Tewari, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner.

2. This Cr. M. P. has been filed for quashing the first information report being Nirsa P.S. Case No. 152 of 2009, corresponding to G.R. No. 2341 of 2009, registered for the offence under Sections 414/120B of the Indian Penal Code along with Section 32(2) of the Coal Mines Act as against the present petitioner said to be pending in the court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Dhanbad.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the coal which was involved in this case has been released in favour of one Nawal Singh @ Nawal Kishore Singh pursuant to the petition filed by him. It is submitted that before releasing the coal, the learned court below had called for a report from the police and the police had supported the release of coal in favour of Nawal Singh @ Nawal Kishore Singh and the coal was ultimately released in his favour. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that in the aforesaid circumstances no case is made out against the petitioner.

4. Learned counsel further submits that the case was instituted under the provisions of Indian Penal Code as well as the special Act i.e. Coal Mines Act and in view of the special Act, no FIR could have been instituted under the provisions of Indian Penal Code. It is submitted that in aforesaid view of the matter the entire criminal case including the F.I.R. is fit to be quashed and set aside.

5. Learned counsel for the State Mr. Veer Vijay Pradhan opposes the prayer of the petitioner and submits that no case for quashing of the FIR has been made out.

6. After hearing the learned counsel for the parties, this court finds that the present case has been filed for quashing of the first information report being Nirsa P.S. Case No. 152 of 2009 corresponding to G.R. No. 2341 of 2009 which was lodged against the present petitioner under Section 414/120B of the Indian Penal Code along with Section 32(2) of the Coal Mines Act and the said case is said to be pending before the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Dhanbad. This court finds that the F.I.R. is based on the written report submitted by opposite party No. 2 before the officer in charge of Nirsa Police Station.

7. The prosecution story in short is based on the written report given by the opposite party No. 2 before the Officer in charge of the Nirsa Police Station that on receiving the confidential information about stocking and illegal extraction of coal, a team was constituted who reached the Narshimha Indhan Udyog and found that a truck bearing number WB 15A/2286 was being loaded by steam coal by labourers with the help of baskets and on seeing the police the labourers started fleeing away and some persons with cycles having sacks loaded with coal on the said cycles also started fleeing away, leaving the cycles. Some persons were also emptying sacks loaded with coal and all of them fled away taking advantage of darkness. On seeing the raid some persons stated that Narsimha Indhan Udyog, belongs to Ishaque Beg, and that Nawal Singh, Manu Tiwari, Pravin Rana and Shankar Agrawal and Jahid Khan, in league with each other deal in illegal mining and theft of coal and the FIR describes the modus of the said crime.

8. This court further finds that one person namely Nawal Singh @ Nawal Kishore Singh, filed a surrender cum bail petition along with a bunch of papers which were sent for verification vide order 11.08.2009 and the matter was directed to be posted on 22.08.2009. Said Nawal Singh @ Nawal Kishore Singh, had filed a petition dated 11.08.2009 (Annexure-3) for release of seized coal in his favour which was opposed by the police by filing a verification report dated 20.08.2009 (Annexure- 4) on the ground that the seized coal was apparently purchased from the various cycle riders who were made to excavate the coal illegally. The matter was taken up on various dates and was adjourned to 01.09.2009. Although the present case has