MOULANA BASHA Vs. STATE REP

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner Maulane Basha was the sole accused in C.C. No. 430 of 1987 of the file of the then Judicial Second Class Magistrate, Poonamallee. The charge against him was under S. 4(i)(j) of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act read with S. 75 of the Tamil Nadu City Police Act. During the pendency of the prosecution, the petitioner was called upon to face a departmental enquiry in P. R. No. 55 of 1987. The trial Magistrate had framed charges against the petitioner and the matter was constantly being adjourned for the production of prosecution witnesses. On 4/05/1988, the Inspector of Police, Poona Finance who had filed the final report against the petitioner, forwarded a copy of the case diary to the trial Magistrate, along with a copy of the proceedings of the Superintendent of Police, Chengalpatta East District in R. C. No. C1/15138/88, dated 16-2-1988. The Superintendent of Police, Chengalpatta East had ordered as follows : "After careful perusal of the C.D. files of the cases shown in the annexure, it is hereby ordered to withdraw once case as noted therein as it is considered that there is no need to proceed further in this case." The case referred to is H1, Poonamallee P.S. Crime No. 90/87, registered under S. 4(1)(i) of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act read with S. 75 of the Tamil Nadu City Police Act, pending on the file of Judicial Second Class Magistrate, Poonamallee, in C.C. No. 430 of 1987 (instant prosecution). The case diary forwarded by the respondent reads as follows :

(2.) While the case diary extract received by the trial Magistrate on 4/05/1988 was available in the case file, on 13-6-1988 the Assistant Public Prosecutor moved an application under S. 321, Cr. P.C. The contents of the application read as follows :

(3.) The petitioner has chosen to challenge in this revision, the legality of the order of the trial Magistrate, permitting withdrawal of the prosecution, under S. 321, Cr. P.C.