HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE B. SESHASAYANA REDDY CRIMINAL PETITION No. 3660 OF 2008 DATED 6th August 2010. BETWEEN. Boya Sivaji ….Petitioners and The State of Andhra Pradesh, Rep. By Public Prosecutor Hyderabad, and anr. ..Respondents. HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE B. SESHASAYANA REDDY CRIMINAL PETITION No. 3660 OF 2008 ORDER: This Criminal Petition under Section 482 Cr.P.C. has been ﬁled by the accused in Crime No. 61 of 2008 of Kodumur Police Station registered for the oﬀences punishable under Sections 147, 148,307 r/w. 149 IPC with a prayer to quash the complaint therein. The second respondent-P.Murali, a police constable in Kodumur Police Station, stated that on 12.5.2008 at about 7.00 PM, while he along with AR Head Constable-P.Yesurathnam and AR PC 1571- Rangasomula was on ghasthi duty in the Kodumur village, they heard shoutings and whistles and therefore they rushed towards bus-stand and found two groups near the lane of the house of Raja Reddy, one group belongs to Raja Reddy and the other group belongs to Golla Venkateshwarlu, were holding daggers and pelting stones against one another. He further stated that he and two other constable tried to enter into the groups and pacify them, however, they did not allow the constables to pacify the situation and in the meanwhile C.I. of police along with his staﬀ came in a jeep and on seeing them they ﬂed away. The said P.Murali-police constable presented the report to the Sub Inspector of Police, Kodumur Police Station. The Station House Oﬃcer, Kodumur Police Station received the report and registered a case in crime No. 61 of 2008 under Sections 147, 148, 307 r/w 149 IPC and issued FIR. Hence, this petition by the some of the accused with a prayer to quash the FIR. Heard the learned Counsel for the petitioners and the learned Additional Public Prosecutor appearing for the respondent-State. The learned Counsel for the petitioners submitted that the allegations made in the report submitted by the second respondent do not constitute any oﬀence under Section 147, 148, 307 r/w. 149 IPC and therefore, the investigation in the said crime amounts to abuse of process. The learned Additional Public Prosecutor submitted that two groups in Kodumur village have resorted to pelting stones against each other and therefore registration of case in Crime No. 61 of 2008 basing on the report of the second respondent for the oﬀences punishable under Sections 147, 148, 307 r/w. 149 IPC is justified. I have gone through the report presented by the second respondent. What all stated by the second respondent in the report is that two groups started pelting stones against each other near the lane of the house of Raja Reddy. The allegations in the First Information Report at the most constitute the oﬀence under Section 160 IPC. ‘Aﬀray’ has been deﬁned under Section 159 IPC, which reads as under: “When two or more persons, by fighting in a public place, disturb the public peace, they are said to ‘commit an affray’” The oﬀence under Section 160 is cognizable and liable for punishment of imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month or with ﬁne which may extend to one hundred rupees or with both. The allegations in the complaint do not constitute the oﬀences under Sections 147, 148, 307 r/w. 149 IPC. Therefore, the investigation in crime No. 61 of 2008 registered for the oﬀences punishable under Sections 147, 148, 307 r/w. 149 IPC is abuse of process. Accordingly the registration of crime No. 61 of 2008 for the oﬀences punishable under Sections 147, 148, 307 r/w. 149 IPC is hereby quashed. However, the police are at liberty to investigate the case in Crime No. 61 of 2008 for the oﬀence punishable under Section 160 IPC, if so advised. Accordingly the Criminal Petition is disposed of. ------------------------------------------------------ JUSTICE B. SESHASAYANA REDDY DATED 6T H AUGUST, 2010. Msnr.