JISSY S Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The 1st accused in S.C.1154 of 2023 on the file of the First Additional Sessions Court, Palakkad arising out of crime No.473 of 2018 of Sreekrishnapuram police station, preferred this petition under Sec. 528 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (in short, BNSS), praying for quashing all further proceedings against him. The offences alleged against the petitioner along with the other accused persons are under Ss. 75 and 79 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act (In short, JJ Act).

(2.) The prosecution case is that the accused persons 2 and 3, with the intention to make profit, brought CWs 6, 7, 8, 10 to 18 from Jharkhand and Bihar and engaged them for labour in the rubber band manufacturing unit by name 'Classic Rubbers' conducted by the 1st accused in building No.12/237 of Sreekrishnapuram panchayat, during the period from 18/1/2018 till 19/6/2018 and subjected them to work in unsafe atmosphere and thereby they alleged to have committed the aforesaid offences.

(3.) The learned counsel for the petitioner would argue that though the petitioner is the licensee of the above industrial unit, it is being run by accused persons 2 and 3 and even as per the prosecution case, they were engaged by accused persons 2 and 3, that the petitioner had no role in engaging them for the work and therefore, he prayed for quashing all further proceedings against the petitioner. Further, the learned counsel would argue that even as per the allegations raised in the final report, the offences alleged under Sec. 75 and 79 of the JJ Act are not made out against the petitioner.