THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE SAMUDRALA GOVINDA RAJULU CRIMINAL PETITION NO.673 OF 2007 & CRIMINAL PETITION NO.675 OF 2007 Date:19.11.2009 CRIMINAL PETITION NO.673 OF 2007 Between: Smt. T. Kuppamma ……Petitioner/A-2 And: The State of A.P., through PP., High Court of A.P. ….. Respondent. CRIMINAL PETITION NO.675 OF 2007 Between: Smt T. Shyamalamma ……Petitioner And: The State of A.P., through PP., High Court of A.P. ….. Respondents. THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE SAMUDRALA GOVINDA RAJULU CRIMINAL PETITION NO.673 OF 2007 & CRIMINAL PETITION NO.675 OF 2007 COMMON ORDER: The petitioners in both these petitions are sisters. They are the accused in C.C.Nos.96 of 2000 and C.C.No.97 of 2000 on the file of IV Additional Judicial Magistrate of the First Class, Chittoor. They are being prosecuted for the offence punishable under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code in two separate cases which arose from single crime registered by C.I.D Police, Tirupati. The petitioners seek quashing the proceedings relating to Criminal Case filed by the C.I.D Police, Tirupathi against them. Subject matter of this case is the alleged obtaining cast certificate by the petitioners showing them as belonging to “Konda Kapu” cast from the relevant authority fraudulently. As can be seen from the charge sheet, it appears that a petition was presented by some third party whose name is not mentioned therein and who is not cited as a witness in the charge sheet to the Additional Director of Police, C.I.D, Hyderabad and the said petition was endorsed by the said officer to the Inspector of Police, C.I.D, P.C.R. Cell, Chittoor Zone. The Charge sheet further reads that the Inspector of Police, C.I.D enquired the petition with regard to casts of the accused and submitted a report to the Additional Director General of Police, C.I.D, Hyderabad and that basing on the said report, case in Crime No.99 of 1997 was registered under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code in C.I.D Police Station, Hyderabad. After investigation, the police filed several charge sheets against each of the family members of the petitioners separately in the same Crime No.99 of 1997. It is contended by the petitioner’s counsel that the police have no jurisdiction to make any enquiry and to register a case relating to obtaining of casts certificates and that it is the domain of the District Collector to make such enquiry under the Andhra Pradesh (S.Cs., S.Ts., and B.Cs.,) Regulation of Issue of Community Certificates etc., Act, 1993. Previously this Court had an occasion to consider registration of C.C.No.95 of 2000 in Crime No.99 of 1997 against brother of the petitioners herein. This Court by the order dated 08.03.2006 in Criminal Petition No.1352 of 2004 quashed proceedings in C.C.No.95 of 2000 in Crime No.99 of 1997 of C.I.D Police Station, Hyderabad. In that order, it was held that C.I.D Police have no jurisdiction to make any enquiry relating to issuance of caste certificate under the above Act and that it was the exclusive jurisdiction of the District Collector to initiate proceedings to conduct enquiry as to correctness of such community certificates. I entirely agree with observations made in that order. Secondly, under the provisions of Code of Criminal Procedure also the Police have no jurisdiction to make re-registration enquiry of any petition received by the police. The police are required to enter upon investigation, whether it called enquiry or investigation, only after registration of a crime. Prior to such registration, it does not lie with the police to make any roaming enquiries on petitions either anonymous, pseudonymous or even named petitions. It is evident that the police in this case have crossed legal bounds prescribed by the Code of Criminal Procedure in making pre-registration enquiry and in registering the crime on the basis of pre-registration enquiry report. Thus, base of this crime that is pre-registration enquiry report of the Inspector of Police, Tirupathi is itself illegal. When the basis is knocked off, the entire result of investigation should give way. In the result, both the Criminal Petitions are allowed quashing the proceedings in C.C.No.96 of 2000 and CC No.97 of 2000 relating to the petitioners on the file of the IV Additional Judicial Magistrate of the First Class, Chittoor. ___________________________________ SAMUDRALA GOVINDA RAJULU,J 19th November, 2009 Gk. THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE SAMUDRALA GOVINDA RAJULU CRIMINAL PETITION NO.673 OF 2007 & CRIMINAL PETITION NO.675 OF 2007 Date:19.11.2009 Gk.