HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE P. DURGA PRASAD CRIMINAL PETITION No.6715 OF 2008 Dated 25-03-2011 Between: Thammisetti Balu and 7 others. ……..Petitioners And: The State, rep. by its PP., High Court of A.P., Hyderabad. ………Respondent HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE P. DURGA PRASAD CRIMINAL PETITION No.6715 OF 2008 ORDER: This petition is filed under Section 482 Cr.P.C for quashing the proceedings in C.C.No.82 of 2008 pending on the file of Judicial Magistrate of the First Class, Kamalapuram. The petitioners herein were prosecuted for the offences under Sections 417 and 420 IPC and Section 9(1) of A.P. Gaming Act (for short, the Act). The petitioners’ counsel has pleaded that there is no material on record to establish the offences under Sections 417 or 420 IPC and even for the offence under Section 9(1) of the Act, the allegations do not constitute any offence under the said Act and as such the proceedings pending against the petitioner are liable to be quashed. In the charge sheet, it is alleged that on 5.11.2007, the Station House Officer received the information that four persons organizing the cricket betting in D.No.1/304-A-2, Vinayakanagar, Yerraguntla town and the SI collected the staff and panchayatdars by police Jeep and reached the said place and found four persons were sitting on the floor in Varandha fixed a television in front of them and observing the cricket play conducting between the team of India and Pakistahan. On seeing the police they stand and confused. They kept bundle of currency, one calculator and some slips. SI of Police with the help of the staff surrounded the accused and caught them and interrogated and during the interrogation, it came to light that A.5 and A.6 collecting betting amount in Proddatur and A.7, A.8 are bookies. As the A.1 to A.4 were conducting cricket betting illegally by putting money as bet cheating the public for wrongful gain, the SI arrested the accused and seized Rs.50,000/- cash cell phones, televisions, calculator and slips of gambling under cover of panchanama. Therefore, as per the above said allegations, there is no inducement on the part of the accused to attract any person in order to attract the provisions of Sections 417 and 420 IPC. Therefore, the material available on record does not disclose that the accused committed any offence under Sections 417 and 420 IPC. With regard to the offence under Section 9(1) of the Act that whoever is found gaming or reasonably suspected to be gamming in any public street or through fare or in any place to which the public have, or are permitted to have access shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months or with fine which may extend to three hundred rupees or with both. Therefore, as per the above said Section, the Gaming must be in a public street or through fare or in any place to which the public have, or are permitted to have access. In the present case, as per the averments made in the charge sheet, A.1 to A.4 were sitting in the varrandha of the house bearing D.No.1/304-A-2, Vinayakanagar, Yerraguntla and except the confession made by them, there is no material on record to show that they are conducting cricket betting. Even the witnesses cited in the charge sheet are only the mediators for the seizure and arrest of the A.1 to A.4 and L.Ws.3 to 5 are the Police Constables and S.I of Police of Yerraguntla Police Station and they only speak about the arrest and register of the case and filing of the charge sheet. Thus, except the averments said to have been confessed by A.1 to A.4, there is no other material on record to establish that A.1 to A.4 conducted the cricket betting and A.5 and A.6 are collecting betting amount and A.7 and A.8 are the bookies. Even if the trial is permitted to be conducted against the accused, no useful purpose would be served as there is no material on record to establish the offence under Section 9(1) of the Act. Therefore, permitting to continue the proceedings in C.C.No.82 of 2008 on the file of Judicial Magistrate of the First Class, Kamalapuram against the petitioners would amount to abuse of process of law and hence the petitioners are entitled for quashing of the above said proceedings. In the result, the petition is allowed and the proceedings in C.C.No.82 of 2008 on the file of Judicial Magistrate of the First Class, Kamalapuram against the petitioners are quashed. ______________________ P.DURGA PRASAD,J. Date:25.03.2011. Gk. HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE P. DURGA PRASAD CRIMINAL PETITION No.6715 OF 2008 Dated 25-03-2011 Gk.