THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE N.TUKARAMJI CRIMINAL PETITION No. 11815 OF 2024

ORDER

This Criminal Petition is filed under Section 528 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short ‘BNSS, 2023’), seeking quashment of the proceedings against the petitioner in C.C.No.875 of 2020 on the file of the learned Additional Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Gadwal.

2. The petitioner is sole accused in the Calendar Case registered for the offences punishable under Sections 374 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short ‘the I.P.C.’), Sections 3, 7, 8, 14 of the Child Labour (Prohibition And Regulation) Act, 1986 (for short ‘the Act, 1986’).

3. I have heard Mr.P.Vamsheedhar Reddy, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr.Jithender Rao Veeramalla, learned Additional Public Prosecutor, representing respondent No.1-State.

4. The case of the prosecution, in brief is that, on December 18, 2017, at approximately 11:30 hours, Respondent No. 2, accompanied by a specially constituted team, conducted a raid on the premises of Sri Laxmi Venkateswara Ginning and Processing Mills, located on the outskirts of Paramala Village in Gadwal Mandal. During the operation, fifteen (15)

minors were discovered wor