HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE SAMUDRALA GOVINDARAJULU CRIMINAL PETITION NO.4426 of 2007 ORDER: This petition is filed by the 16th accused under Section 482 Cr.P.C. for quashing proceedings in C.C.No.2 of 2004 on the file of I Additional Sessions Judge, Hyderabad, renumbered as C.C.No.3 of 2007 on the file of Special Judge for C.B.I. Cases, Hyderabad, relating to R.C.No.4 (E)/2004/CBI/EOW-I/EW1 of 2006 pertaining to offences punishable under Sections 120-B, 258, 259, 260, 420, 474 IPC read with Sections 64(c), 69(b) of the Indian Stamps Act read with Sections 13 (2) and 13 (1) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The case relates to stamps scam, popularly known as Telgi case. A-17 in this case is the then Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central Crime Station, Hyderabad. A-15 is the then Inspector of Police in white-collar offences, Team-III in which team, A-16/petitioner is the then Sub-Inspector. As per allegations contained in supplementary charge sheet, on receiving information from office of the Inspector General of stamps and Registration, Hyderabad, against M/s.Star Services for having supplied suspected fake stamps to State Bank of Hyderabad, Tarnaka Branch, A-17 deputed A-15 and A-16 for taking necessary action, and they went to Deputy Registrar and met Branch Manager of State Bank of Hyderabad and after making necessary enquiry, A- 15 obtained written report from the said Branch Manager along with photo copy of cash memo under which fake stamps were purchased from M/s. Star Services and did not seize the stamps in question. It is further alleged that they raided premisis of M/s. Star Services and brought its marketing executives to Central Crime Station where bill books indicating sale and supply of suspected fake stamps were produced and that A-15 failed to seize those documents and allowed them to go without taking further legal action and that A-15 and A-16 went to State Bank of Hyderabad, Tarnaka Branch, and A-16 gave letter dated 12/11/2001 to the Branch Manager directing stopping of further transactions in current account of M/s. Star Services in Union Bank of India, Asifnagar Branch. It is further alleged that on direction of A-17, A-16 got account of M/s. Star Services in Union Bank of India, Asifnagar Branch, defreezed by letter dated 10/12/2001 which enabled A-2 who is a member of organized crime syndicate to withdraw Rs.2.4 lakhs from the said account on the same day. Thus, A-16/petitioner was a junior officer, who was functioning under his superior officers A-15 who is the inspector of police and A-17 who is the Deputy Commissioner of Police. When A-15 was present at the scene, lower rank officer like A-16 cannot be found fault if there was no seizure of fake stamps or records like bill books produced by marketing executives of M/s. Star Services. Further, A-16 did not give letter dated 10/12/2001 by himself, but gave the same defreezing account of A-2 in Union Bank of India, Asifnagar Branch, on directions and instructions given by his supervising officer namely A-17 the then Deputy Commissioner of police under whom A-16 was working. C.B.I. filed charge sheet and supplementary charge sheet against several of the accused for several offences punishable under IPC and other special enactments originally in I Additional Metropolitan Sessions Court, Hyderabad, which is a designated Court under the A.P. Control of Organized Crime Act, that Court by the order dated 06/08/2004 took the supplementary charge sheet on file against A- 15 to A-18 for offences punishable under Sections 120-B read with Sections 253, 259, 260, 420, 474 IPC read with Sections 64 (c) and 69 (b) of the India Stamps Act read with Sections 13 (2)/13(1) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Sections 3 and 24 of the A.P. Control of Organized Crime Act. Subsequently, this case was transferred from the I Additional Metropolitan Sessions Court, Hyderabad, to the Special Court for C.B.I. Cases, Hyderabad, and was renumbered as C.C.No.3 of 2007 after quashing and deletion of the offences under the A.P. Control of Organized Crime Act. Apart from the question whether C.B.I. established the above offences prima-facie against the petitioner/A-16, it is pertinent to note that this Court quashed proceedings against A-15 and A-17 in this case. This Court (K.C.Bhanu, J) by the order dated 31/01/2007 in Crl.P.No.5032 of 2006 quashed proceedings in C.C.No.2 of 2004 of the I Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge, Hyderabad, in so far as A-17 is concerned. Further, the case against A-18 was also quashed by this Court (G.Yethirajulu, J) in Crl.P.No.891 of 2007 by the order dated 09/07/2007. A-18 is another Inspector of Police working in Habeeb Nagar Police Station who is stated to have received bribe from A-19 for getting himself absolved from this case. There is no allegation of receiving any bribe by the petitioner/A-16 in this case either in the charge sheet or in supplementary charge sheet. Further, this Court (K.C.Bhanu, J) by the order dated 16/03/2009 in Crl.P.No.1276 of 2008 quashed proceedings relating to A-15 in C.C.No.3 of 2007 of the lower Court. It was observed therein that by the date of visiting office of the Inspector General of Stamps and Registration, no case was registered and therefore, question of seizure of fake stamps did not arise at all. When superior officers like the Inspectors of Police (A-15) and the Deputy Commissioner of Police (A-17) were relieved of the charges in this case, no purpose will be served in continuing the case against the petitioner/A-16, who is a lower rung officer who was acting on directions and instructions of his superior and supervising police officers. Therefore, for reasons mentioned in the orders passed by this Court quashing proceedings against A-15 and A-17, I am of the opinion that necessary corollary thereof should be followed by quashing proceedings against A-16/petitioner also. In the result, the Criminal Petition is allowed quashing proceedings against the pettioner/A-16 in C.C.No.3 of 2007 on the file of Special Judge for C.B.I.Cases, Hyderabad. ___________________________ SAMUDRALA GOVINDARAJULU, J December, 2009 SKM