HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAINITAL Criminal Misc. Application (u/s 482 Cr.P.C) No. 1178 of 2016 M/s Krishna S. Fasteners -------Applicant Versus State of Uttarakhand and another -----------Respondents -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Presence:-

Mr. Piyush Garg, learned counsel for the applicant.

Mr. Devendra Rana, learned AGA and Mr. Vikash Uniyal, Brief Holder for the State/respondent no.1.

None for the respondent no.2.

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Hon’ble Mr. Subhash Upadhyay, J.(oral)

Present Criminal Misc. Application under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, has been filed by the petitioner with the prayer to quash the summoning order dated 19.02.2016 passed by the learned C.J.M., U. S. Nagar as well as the entire proceedings of Criminal Case No. 981 of 2016, Zila Panchayat, Udham Singh Nagar vs. M/s Krishna S. Fasteners, Under Section 240 of the U.P. Kshettra Panchayat and Zila Panchayat Act, 1961, pending in the Court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Udham Singh Nagar.

2. The applicant is a proprietor firm, namely, M/s Krishna S. Fasteners, situated at B-3 Industrial Estate, Kashipur, District Udham Singh Nagar. The applicant is manufacturer of Zipper Rolls /Poly Zipper/Grip role etc. in the name and style of said company at the above noted address; the aforesaid unit of the applicant is situated in a Notified Industrial Area and is under the control of the District Industries Centre.

3. The counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant is an industrial unit established under the notified Industrial Area in District Udham Singh Nagar and is aggrieved by the proceedings initiated by the Zila Panchayat, Udham Singh Nagar invoking the provisions of Section 240 of the Zila Panchayat Act. Counsel for the applicant further submits that the respondent no.2 without any authority over an industrial area forces the applicant to obtain a license and to pay circumstance and property tax in respect of the industry situated in a notified industrial area by misconstruing the provision of Zila Panchayat Act. The notices issued by the respondent no.2 were replied by the applicant from time to time contending therein that Zila Panchayat has no application over the applicant’s industry which is situated in a notified industrial area and not a rural area and thus there is no necessity of obtaining a license from the respondent no.2 for the reason of the applicant industry being situated in an industrial area and the Zila Panchayat authorities have no jurisdiction to grant license or to levy or collect any license fee or tax in an industrial area. The Zila Panchayat authorities in that respect wrongly relies upon their bye-laws dated 06.12.2005 notified on 24.12.2005 and by laws dated

06.09.2006 notified on 09.09.2006.

4. Counsel for the applicant thus submits that the unit of the applicant being situated in a notified Industrial area, the Zila Panchayat Authorities have no jurisdiction to grant license or to levy or collect any license fee or tax from an industry operating in industrial area. The Zila Panchayat Authorities without any authority filed a complaint against the applicant before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Udham Singh Nagar purported to be under Section 240 of the Zila Panchayat Act, and the learned Magistrate in a mechanical manner without applying its judicial mind summoned the applicant.

5. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the issue as to whether the Zila Panchayat has any authority to grant license or permission or to levy tax in a notified Industrial Area has been considered by the learned Coordinate Bench of this Court in Writ Petition No. 342 (M/S) of 2012 Kumaon Garhwal Chamber of Commerce and Industry vs. State and others and Writ Petition No. 636 (M/S) of 2014 M/s Revati Print Pack vs. State. In Writ Petition No. 636(M/S) of 2014, the Coordinate Bench has held as under:

“Undisputedly, SIDCUL