HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE K. LAKSHMAN CRIMINAL PETITION No.7543 OF 2025

ORAL ORDER

Heard Mr. P. Shashi Kiran, learned counsel for the petitioners and Sri Dodla Arun Kumar, learned Assistant Public Prosecutor appearing for 1^st respondent.

2. The present Criminal Petition is filed under Section - 528 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short, ‘BNSS’) to quash the proceedings in C.C.No.32 of 2025 pending on the file of the Special Judicial Magistrate of First Class for Trial of Cases relating to M.Ps and MLAs, Hyderabad. The petitioners herein are Accused Nos.1, 3 to 11 in the said C.C.No.32 of 2025. The offences alleged against the petitioners herein are punishable under Sections 143 and

188 read with Section 149 of IPC.

3. As per the complaint dated 15.11.2021 of 2^nd respondent, the allegations leveled against the petitioners herein are that 1^st petitioner along with the other petitioners on 15.11.2021 at 12 noon, without following guidelines issued by the State Government with regard to COVID-19, went to Arjalabavi IKP Centre, Nalgonda District and examined the paddy, spoke to the farmers and conducted press meet.

Thus, the petitioners have violated the Model of Code of Conduct.

4. During the course of investigation, the Investigating Officer recorded statements of 2^nd respondent as L.W.1, L.Ws.2 to 4 are constables and Sub Inspector of Police, Nalgonda Rural Police Station, L.W.5 is the photographer and also eye witness to the incident. On consideration of the said statements, the Investigating officer laid charge sheet against the petitioners herein. The same was taken on file vide C.C.No.35 of 2025. Petitioners filed the present criminal petition to quash the proceedings in the said C.C.

5. In the said CC, the offences are under Sections 143 and 149 of IPC. Section 143 of IPC says that whoever is a member of an unlawful assembly, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine, or with both.

6. Section 141 of IPC deals with unlawful assembly and it is extracted below:-

141. Unlawful assembly.—An assembly of five or more persons is designated an “unlawful assembly”, if the common object of the

persons composing that assembly is—

First.—To overawe by criminal force, or show of criminal force, the Central or any State Government or Parliament or the Legislature of any State, or any public servant in the exercise of the lawful power of such public servant; or Second.—To resist the execution of any law, or of any legal process; or Third.—To commit any mischief or criminal trespass, or other offence; or Fourth.—By means of criminal force, or show of criminal force, to any person, to take or obtain possession of any property, or to deprive any person of the enjoyment of a right of way, or of the use of water or other incorporeal right of which he is in possession or enjoyment, or to enforce any right or supposed right; or Fifth.—By means of criminal force, or show of criminal force, to compel any person to do what he is not legally bound to do, or to omit to do what he is legally entitled to do.

7. To prove the said offences, there should be criminal force or resisting the execution of any law, or of any legal process by the petitioners. The contents of the complaint dated 15.11.2021 of 2^nd respondent and statements of the witnesses recorded under Section 161 of Cr.P.C. lacks the ingredients of Sections 141 of IPC. Thus, the prosecution failed to prove that the petitioners used criminal force or obstructed execution of any proceedings or of any legal process by the petitioners herein.

8. It is relevant to discuss Section 188 of IPC and the same is extracted below:-

“188. Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant.—Whoever, knowing that, by an order promulgated by a public servant lawfully empowered to promulgate such order, he is directed to abstain from a certain act, or to take certain order with certain property in his possession or under his management,