IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH AT JABALPUR BEFORE HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE B. P. SHARMA

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ON THE 24 OF FEBRUARY, 2026 MISC. CRIMINAL CASE No. 18009 of 2019 DHIRENDRA DUBEY AND OTHERS Versus UNION OF INDIA Appearance:

Shri Siddharth Gulatee, Sr. Advocate alonwith Shri Shubhankar Basnet and Mrs.Tulika Gulatee - Advocates for the petitioners.

Shi Sunil Jain, A.S.G alonwith Shri Arnav Tiwari - Advocate for respondent.

ORDER By way of the present petition filed under Section 528 of the BNSS

2023 (Sec.482 of the Cr.P.C), the petitioners seek quashment of Criminal Complaint No.11041/2018, pending before the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bhopal, for the offence under Sec.17(1)(c) and 18(1)(c) of the Insecticides Act, 1968 and Rule 1971.

2. Brief facts are that a complaint has been filed, against the petitioners, before the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, by Shri C.S.Naik, who is working as Plant Protection Officer (Entomology), in the Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine & Storage, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Faridabad, and is notified Insecticide Inspector under Section 20 of the Insecticides Act, 1968, on behalf of Union of India, alleging that in India, import, manufacture, transport, distribution, sale and use of insecticides are regulated under a comprehensive legislation, namely the Insecticide Act, 1968 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) with a view to prevent risk to human beings, animals and matters connected therewith. Thus, every aspect related to insecticides is being regulated so as to ensure their efficacy to the target pest and safety to human beings, animals and matter connected therewith. The Act also provides for a Registration Committee under Section 5 to grant registration for import or manufacture of insecticides, mandatory under Section 9 after thorough scrutiny of their formulae and verifying the claims with regard to their efficacy and safety through evaluation of exhaustive scientific and other data generated on the insecticides as per the guidelines, framed under Section 5(5) of the Act, as a part of its own procedure and conduct of business to be transacted by it to satisfy itself with the efficacy and safety of the insecticides before registering them for permitting their use in the country. Thus no insecticide can be imported or manufactured without the registration thereof by the Registration Committee. No insecticide can be manufactured, distributed exhibited for sale or sold or stocked for sale without grant of a license by a Licensing Officer under Section 13, notified by the State Government, who grants license for manufacture, sale, exhibit for sale, stock, display etc. of insecticides. The insecticide Methyl Parathion is an insecticide and being used to manufacture in registered formulation for the control of certain harmful insects infestation in certain field crops for use by farmers, and being highly toxic substance, these are regulated under the Insecticides Act, 1968, in India.

3. A complaint with enclosure was received, in the Directorate regarding illegal import of the Methyl Parathion from China. On the request of Additional Plant Protection Advisor and Secretary, Central Insecticides Board and others, the Chinese Regulatory Authority furnished the status of Methyl Parathion via e-mail dated 27th of May, 2013 in which it was stated that the Registration of Methyl Parathion was cancelled in 2005, and banned to be used in 2007 in China, now there is no Registration of Methyl Parathion products in China.

4. Thereafter, after investigation, a show cause notice dated 17.2.2014 was issued by the Techno Legal Cell to the opposite party suspecting that as the Methyl Parathion could not be imported from China after 2007, hence the consignment of products imported by the petitioner/firm in the year 2008 and thereafter are illegal. The petitioner/firm was also asked to furnish relevant documents with regard to imp