1 Criminal W.P.No.1155 of 2010 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE OF BOMBAY BENCH AT AURANGABAD CRIMINAL WRIT PETITION NO.1155 OF 2010 Sudhir S/o.Dattopant Inamdar PETITIONER VERSUS The State of Maharashtra and others RESPONDENTS Mr.M.P.Kale, learned counsel for the petitioner. Mr.N.H.Borade, learned A.P.P. for respondent State. (CORAM : P.V.HARDAS, AND A.V.POTDAR, J.J.) DATE : 21/01/2011 PER COURT : 1. This is a petition under Article 226 of The Constitution of India, by which the petitioner prays for issuance of a writ of certiorari for quashing the summary criminal case no.76/2007, instituted before the J.M.F.C. Udgir, Dist. Latur, for offence punishable u/s. 134 and 135 of The Bombay Police Act. The petitioner also prays for issuance of a writ of prohibition directing respondents no.2 and 3 from taking any coercive action against the petitioner on the basis of summary criminal case no.76/2007, pending before the J.M.F.C. Udgir, Dist. Latur. The other prayers pertain to the interim reliefs which are sought for by the petitioner. 2 Criminal W.P.No.1155 of 2010 2. The principle grievance of the petitioner is that a summary criminal case referred to above came to be filed in which the petitioner is one of the accused. According to the petitioner, the offences punishable u/s. 134 and 135 of The Bombay Police Act are non cognizable offences, and therefore the police ought to have obtained the permission of the Magistrate to investigate the offence and then ought to have filed the charge sheet. A reliance is placed by the learned counsel for the petitioner on the 2 nd schedule appended to the Code of Criminal Procedure. 3. On notice of this petition being issued to the respondents, the respondents have filed their affidavit in reply. In the affidavit in reply, reliance is placed on section 72 of The Act which confers a power on the Police Officer to arrest without warrant in respect of various offences. Clause 2 of Section 72 speaks about the powers to arrest without warrant in respect of contravention of a rule or an order issued u/s. 33 or an order or a notification issued u/s. 36, 37, 56, 57, 57A and 63AA. Section 134 of The Bombay Police Act concerns with the contravention or disobedience or opposition or the failure to conform to an order issued by the Police Officer u/s. 36, while 135 of The Bombay Police Act deals with the disobedience and or an order made u/s. 37, 39 or 40 or abets the disobedience. 4. The learned A.P.P. therefore submits that in the light of the provisions of Section 72 of The Bombay Police Act which confers the 3 Criminal W.P.No.1155 of 2010 power on the Police Officer to arrest without warrant. The offences punishable u/s. 134, 135 of The Bombay Police Act are cognizable offences. Reference is also made by the learned A.P.P. to section 41 of The Code of Criminal Procedure which confers power on the Police Officer to arrest an offender without warrant in cognizable offences. 5. Obviously, the power to arrest an offender without warrant can only be effected by the Police Officer in respect of commission of cognizable offences. The Bombay Police Act does not, in any manner, states that the offences punishable u/s. 134 and section 135 thereof are non cognizable offences. If that be the case, according to us, the reliance placed by the learned counsel for the petitioner on the 2 nd schedule appended to the Code of Criminal Procedure is only misplaced. We thus see no merit in this petition and the same therefore summarily dismissed with no orders as to costs. (A.V.POTDAR, J.) (P.V.HARDAS, J.) khs/JAN. 2011/cri.w.p.1155-10