HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE G. KRISHNA MOHAN REDDY CRIMINAL PETITION No.6913 OF 2008 ORDER: This Criminal Petition is filed by the Petitioner/Respondent/Accused (For short, ‘The Respondent’) under Section 482 Cr.P.C., seeking to quash order dated 05-01-2008 passed in Miscellaneous Case No.7 of 2007 by the learned Sub-Collector and Sub-Divisional Magistrate at Bhadrachalam, Khammam District. 2. Whereas the Petitioner is the Respondent, the Respondent No.2 is the Complainant in the Miscellaneous Case No.7 of 2007. For the sake of convenience, I refer the parties as arrayed in the M.C. No.7 of 2007. 3. The relevant facts of the case are as follows : The Complainant is a resident of Sale Bazar, Charla Village and Mandal, Khammam District. There is a well in that village which was dug by the Government for fetching drinking water by the villagers and there is a pathway on either side of that well. While so, the Respondent who was also a resident of the same village, encroached the well and pathway on either side of the well claiming that he purchased the same from Appularaju and brothers of Bhadrachalam. Immediately the Complainant along with 80 others made a complaint to the Executive Officer of their Gram Panchayat who got the land measured without making any enquiry with the persons who were residing there from the past 50 years with the help of the Sarpanch of the village. Subsequently, the Sub-Collector and the Sub-Divisional Magistrate at Bhadrachalam issued notices to either side under Section 147 Cr.P.C. and after their personal appearance before him, passed the order dated 05-01-2008 in M.C. No.7 of 2007 directing the Respondent to immediately remove the obstruction and further holding that he should not have the exclusive use of that pathway. Hence, aggrieved by the same the Respondent filed this Petition seeking to quash the impugned order. 4. It is the contention of learned counsel for the Respondent that it is a private well of the Respondent and in the corresponding complaint given by the Complainant itself it is clearly noted that the concerned Executive Officer and Sarpanch of the village agreed that the property belonged to the Respondent only and such an order could be passed by the authority only in respect of a public well and having first satisfied that there was a likelihood of breach of peace in respect of the use of the well on conducting necessary enquiry giving reasons by virtue of section 147 Cr.P.C. but there is no basis to say that those requirements were satisfied and hence the order is to be quashed. 5. Therefore, the point for consideration is whether there are sufficient grounds to quash the order as prayed? 6. It is pertinent to note here that the Complaint given by the Complainant provides that it happened to be a private well of the Respondent as admitted by the concerned Executive Officer and Sarpanch of the village. Further, the impugned order does not speak that there was likelihood of causing of breach of peace and proper enquiry was conducted and the authority having satisfied with the same passed that order. Some photographs filed provide some evidence of the villagers making use of the well water, which is not sufficient here. The authority had to examine the question of ownership of the property and the rights of the villagers to make use of that well about which there is no evidence. Therefore, the ingredients of Section 147 Cr.P.C. are not satisfied and consequently the proceedings are to be quashed. 7. Accordingly the impugned order is quashed observing that the authority should proceed as per the provisions of Section 147 Cr.P.C. taking into consideration the ownership of the well and/or the rights of the villagers to make use of the well water and also the question of likelihood of breach of peace unless such order is passed. Accordingly, subject to the observations made above, the Criminal Petition is allowed quashing the order dated 05-01-2008, passed in M.C. No.7 of 2007 by the learned Sub-Collector and Sub- Divisional Magistrate at Bhadrachalam, Khammam District. ___________________________ G. KRISHNA MOHAN REDDY, J Dated: 28-09-2011. Dsh. THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE G. KRISHNA MOHAN REDDY 281 CRIMINAL PETITION No.6913 OF 2008 September, 28, 2011 DSH