THE HONOURABLE SMT. JUSTICE JUVVADI SRIDEVI CRIMINAL PETITION No.13099 of 2025

O R D E R

This Criminal Petition is filed by the petitioner-

accused No.3 seeking to quash the proceedings against him in FIR No.148 of 2025 on the file of Wadapally police station, Nalgonda District, registered for the offence under Section 34(e) of the Telangana Excise Act, 1968 (Telangana Adoption Orders, 2015).

2. Heard Sri A.Shiva Sainath, learned counsel for the petitioners and Sri Jithender Rao Veeramalla, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State.

3. The Sub-Inspector of Police, Wadapally Police Station, Nalgonda District, charge sheeted the petitioner-accused No.3 along with others alleging that they have committed the aforesaid offence. Basing on the same, the learned Magistrate took cognizance against the accused and numbered the case.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the sale, purchase and transportation of jaggery is not prohibited under Law. The jaggery is an agricultural produce. It is not an intoxicant, nor a prohibited commodity. Therefore, no offence is made out against the petitioner-accused No.3 and continuation of criminal proceedings against the petitioner amounts to abuse of process of law and prayed to quash the criminal proceedings against the petitioner.

5. On the other hand, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State submitted that there are specific allegations against the petitioner and the truth or otherwise of the allegations levelled against him would come out only after conducting full-fledged trial before the trial Court and prayed to dismiss this Criminal Petition.

6. The Government of Andhra Pradesh vide Memo No.47802/Ex.III.1/2006-13, dated 20.12.2010 declined to impose any ban or restriction on Black Jaggery or Jaggery under the Telangana Excise Act and that possession of jaggery or sale of the same does not fall within the purview of Section 2 of the Telangana Excise Act. The contents of the said Memo are extracted as under:

“The attention of the Commissioner of Prohibition and Excise, A.P., Hyderabad is invited to the reference 1^st cited, wherein he has sent proposal for inclusion of Rotten Jaggery under definition of material in A.P. Excise Act, 1968 so as to ensure effective control of ID arrack crime and to improve Government Revenue.

Government after careful examination of the matter, hereby decided that Black Jaggery or Rotten Jaggery or any other form of Jaggery are viewed as agriculture produce or its bi-products and inclusion of the same in the list of the ‘materials’ used in the manufacture of ID liquor may adversely affect the interest of genuine ryots and the traders. Hence, it was decided not to impose restriction on any agriculture produce, particularly on Jaggery.

Hence, the proposal to include rotten jaggery under definition of ‘material’ u/s. 2 of A.P. Excise Act, 1968 has not been accepted by the Government.”

7. Section 2 of the Telangana Excise Act, defines certain words. Section 2 (22A) of the Telangana Excise Act, says what the word “material” includes, which is as follows:

“material” includes molasses, wash and such other substances as the State Government may, by notification, specify;”

8. It is clear that the word ‘material’ includes molasses, wash and such other substances as the State Government may by notification specify. By the Memo referred supra, the Government has decided not to impose restrictions on any agricultural produce, particularly on jaggery, black jaggery or rotten jaggery, in the list of materials used in the manufacture of ID liquor, as the Government opined that inclusion of the same may adversely affect the interest of the genuine ryots and the traders. It has clearly indicated that the proposal to include rotten jaggery under definition ‘material’ under Section 2 of the Telangana Excise Act, was not accepted by the Government.

9. Sections 34 and 13(1)(f) of the Telangana Excise Act, lays down penalty for illegal import, export etc., and for m