THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE N.TUKARAMJI CRIMINAL PETITION No. 5014 OF 2025

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.18 of 2021 on the file of the learned Principal Junior Civil Judge-cum-Judicial First Class Magistrate, Devarakonda, Nalgonda District.

2. I have heard Dr.J.Viplav Babu, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr.Jithender Rao Veeramalla, learned Additional Public Prosecutor, representing respondent No.1-State.

3. The petitioner is arrayed as accused No.5 in the Calendar Case registered for the offences punishable under Section 269 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, Section 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 and Section 51(b) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

4. The prosecution case in brief is that on 01.08.2020, a complaint has been filed that the B.J.P. Party leaders staged protest against the then Telangana Government without any permission and in violation of COVID-19 regulations.

5. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the case filed against the petitioner is false and unfounded. He argues that, even if the allegations in the complaint are taken at face value, they do not attract the ingredients of the offences alleged. Furthermore, the complaint itself does not attribute any overt or high-handed act to the petitioner, nor does it suggest any damage to property caused by him. Therefore, he contends that allowing the criminal proceedings to continue would be unjust and unwarranted. Learned counsel further points out that, in similar factual circumstances, a Coordinate Bench of this Court, in Criminal Petition No. 8550 of 2024, quashed the proceedings against similarly situated petitioners. On the strength of that precedent, he asserts that the petitioner is entitled to similar relief and accordingly prays for quashment of the Calendar Case pending against him.

6. The Learned Additional Public Prosecutor, while opposing the petition, submits that the complaint contains specific allegations and expressly names the petitioner as one of the participants in the dharna held on the relevant date. The dharna was conducted without necessary permissions and in contravention of COVID-19 pandemic regulations. Nonetheless, the Prosecutor fairly concedes that in other cases involving similarly placed accused individuals, the Court has quashed the proceedings.

7. I have perused the materials on record.

8. Upon a thorough reading of the complaint and other material on record, it does not appear that mere gathering of the accused posed a likelihood of spreading COVID-19 infection. Notably, there is no indication that any individual present in the gathering was infected with the virus or that the infection was in fact transmitted as a result of the assembly. Furthermore, the complaint fails to specify any particular guidelines alleged to have been violated by the accused.

Additionally, no cognizance appears to have been taken in accordance with the mandatory provisions under Section 195 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C.), nor is there compliance with Section 275 Cr.P.C. In this context, the continuation of prosecution for alleged violation of regulations or orders issued under the Disaster Management Act is not legally sustainable under Section 51(b) of the said Act.

Moreover, although the complaint states that the protestors did not comply with the request of the complainant and his team to discontinue the dharna, there is no allegation that the accused obstructed the complainant in the discharge of his official duties under the Disaster Management Act. Thus, even if the allegations in the complaint are accepted at face value, the prosecution’s material falls short of establishing any act warranting the continuation of criminal proceedings.

Significantly, a Coordinate Bench of this Court, in a case involving similar facts and legal issues, has already quashed th