IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH CRM No. M-54472 of 2007(O&M) Date of decision: 26.08.2011 L. Murugappan ..Petitioner Versus The State of Punjab ..Respondent CORAM: HON'BLE MRS. JUSTICE SABINA. Present: Mr. Dinesh Goyal, Advocate for the petitioner. Mr. Vishal Munjal, Addl. AG, Punjab. **** SABINA, J. Petitioner has filed this petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (in short 'Cr.PC' ) seeking quashing of the FIR No. 62 dated 08.05.2001 registered at Police Station A-Division, Amritsar under Clause 19(1) (a) of Fertilizer Control Order, 1985 read with Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (Annexure P-2) and order dated 18.9.2001 (Annexure P-3) and all the subsequent proceedings arising therefrom. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the sample of fertilizer in the present case was drawn on 24.9.1996. Petitioner was nominated as Compliance Officer vide order dated 25.1.1997 (Annexure P-4). The petitioner could not be held liable for prosecution qua sample drawn before the date of his nomination as Compliance Officer. Learned counsel further submitted that in fact, 6 FIRs were registered against the petitioner. In the other cases criminal proceedings against the petitioner have since been quashed by this Court. CRM No. M-54472 of 2007(O&M) -2 Learned State counsel on the other hand has submitted that the criminal proceedings against the petitioner were liable to continue as he was the responsible person. After hearing learned counsel for the parties I am of the opinion instant petition deserves to be allowed. In sub para (vii) of the petition, details of the other cases in which criminal proceedings against the petitioner have been quashed has been given and the same reads as under:- "That it is important to mention here that earlier also, earlier also, the petitioner, in other five similar cases bearing CRM No. 15799, 15801, 15803-M of 1998, 23704-M of 2007 and 23706-M of 2007, raised the aforesaid same point, in which, this Hon'ble Court while allowing the petitions, also quashed the entire proceedings against him. In this regard, a true copy of the said judgment dated 31.07.2007 passed in Crl. Misc. No. 23704-M of 2007 is attached herewith as Annexure P-5. It is further relevant to mention here that three other similar petitions bearing Crl. Misc. No. 39997-M of 2007, Crl. Misc. No. 40000-M of 2007 and Crl. Misc. No. 43934-M of 2007 (filed by other employees of the present manufacturing Company i.e. IFFCO) are already pending before Hon'ble Mr. Justice A.N. Jindal for 15.01.2008, in which, this Hon'ble Court has already issued notice of motion and granted an exemption from personal appearance. Since this point goes to the root of the matter, the learned trial judge wrongly and illegally framed a charge against the petitioner and therefore, the same is liable to be quashed on this ground alone". Criminal Misc. No. M-23704 of 2007 filed by the petitioner seeking quashing of the criminal proceedings against him was CRM No. M-54472 of 2007(O&M) -3- allowed and vide order dated 31.7.2007 (Annexure P-5), it was held that since the petitioner had been nominated as Compliance Officer on 25.1.1997, therefore, he could not be held liable for prosecution qua sample drawn on 25.9.1996.Consequently, the criminal Proceedings against the petitioner was quashed. Vide Order dated 22.5.2007 passed by this Court in CRM No.15803-M of 1998 filed by petitioner seeking quashing of criminal proceedings it was held that the petitioner was Chief Manager of IFFCO but he had been nominated on 25.1.1997 and could not be held liable for prosecution qua sample drawn on 17.10.1996. Since in the similar criminal proceedings initiated against the petitioner FIRs have been quashed qua the petitioner by this Court, the FIR in question is also liable to be quashed. The petitioner was nominated as Compliance Officer on 25.1.1997 whereas the sample was drawn much earlier on 24.9.1996 and hence the petitioner cannot be held liable for prosecution qua the said sample. Accordingly, the present petition is allowed. The FIR No. 62 dated 08.05.2001 registered at Police Station A-Division, Amritsar under Clause 19(1) (a) of Fertilizer Control Order, 1985 read with Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955(Annexure P-2) and all the consequent proceedings arising therefrom including the order dated 18.9.2001 (Annexure P-3) qua the petitioner are quashed. (SABINA ) August 26, 2011 JUDGE Poonam (II)