ORDER :

1. The petitioners have filed this petition seeking to call for the records relating in S.T.C. No. 1109 of 2017, on the file of learned Judicial Magistrate, Dharapuram and quash the same.

2. The case of the prosecution is that the petitioners/accused persons are resident of Uthupalayam Village and there is severe scarcity for drinking water in their village. Aggrieved over the same, the petitioners appealed before the Block Development Officer to address their water problem. Accordingly on 12.06.2017, the BDO took steps to deepen the borewell which was dry, situated at Poromboke land near Thanneer Kinathu Thottam. However, even after deepening of the said borewell, it did not yield much water. Thereafter, the petitioner made request on 12.06.2017 to dig a new borewell in another place as mentioned by the petitioners and the said request was not considered by the revenue officials and other authorities. Hence the petitioners decided to conduct Road Roko in order to have their water problem resolved, which is alleged to have caused disturbance to the traffic as well as to the passerby during night hours, inspite of request from various government officers to disperse. Hence the Sub-Inspector of Police, Dharapuram, has lodged a complaint in Cr. No. 74 of 2017 under Sections 143, 341 and 283 IPC, against 36 accused persons, who are petitioners before this Court. Thereafter the investigation was completed and final report was filed before the learned Judicial Magistrate, Dharapuram, in S.T.C. No. 1109 of 2017. Challenging the same, the present petition is filed.

3. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioners submitted that to have their grievance relating to acute water problem redressed, the petitioners have resorted to road roko, which resulted in the criminal machinery filing the complaint. It is further submitted that the local residents of the village have to travel many kilometers every day to fetch drinking water and further the people of the locality are deprived of the minimum basic facility of drinking water. They made request to the Block Development Officer for digging a new borewell to have their water problem resolved. However, repeated representation submitted in this regard has failed to invoke any kind of response from the concerned authorities and in order to get appropriate relief, the petitioners decided to stage a Road Roko in a peaceful manner. The petitioners participated in the agitation in a peaceful manner, but without any iota of evidence as to disturbance to the public, complaint has been lodged against them as if they caused nuisance to the general public. The act of the respondents is wholly unsustainable and without understanding and alleviating the basic grievance of the people of the area, the complaint has been registered against the petitioners who are fighting for their basic livelihood. It is further submitted that implicating the petitioners in the present case without there being any promulgation by the District Magistrate under Section 144 Cr.P.C. and registering the case against the petitioners, is not sustainable. In the absence of any restriction, the petitioners are entitled to assemble in a peaceful manner and agitate for getting their rights and accordingly prays for allowing of the present petition.

4. The learned Government Advocate (Criminal Side) appearing for the State submitted that the villagers resorted to unlawful assembly without obtaining any prior permission from the concerned officials and thereby disturbed free movement of traffic and caused nuisance to general public. The act of the petitioners have not only caused law and order problem, which necessitated the law enforcing agency to step in and prevent any untoward incidents and the act of the petitioners in staging the agitation without getting prior permission from the concerned authorities has resulted in the complaint being registered, which should not be interfered with by this Court u/s 482 Cr.P.C. as oth