BRIJESH KANUBHAI PATEL Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Applicants have approached this Court invoking section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, seeking quashing of first information report bearing No. 0338 dated 26 th August 2020 lodged with police station, Badnapur in District-Jalna, for the offences punishable under section 304 read with section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and sections 3 and 4 of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (for short "the Mines and Minerals Act").

(2.) On 26th August 2020 respondent No. 2 - the informant lodged a report with police station, Badnapur, District- Jalna. Statements in the first information are to the effect that informant's son Deepak (Shepherd), 16 year old boy had been taking goats for grazing through Dudhna river as usual along with his friends, who too were shepherds, bearing names - Santosh Shinde, Anil Mundhe. The informant received a phone call around 3.15 p.m. from one Shriram Nagare that his son Deepak died drowning in a ditch under 'glass' tree. He immediately went to the spot. With the help of one Salman Rajjak Pathan, his son had been taken out of the water. He alleges that on inquiry, the villagers viz. Babasaheb Bhausaheb Mundhe, Sharad Bhaskar Gite, Mahadu Aabaji Gite, Tejrao Nathaji Gite, Udhav Jagannath Gite and others, told him that contractors of Montecarlo Company, namely, Brijesh Patel, CPM Anilkumar, Jaikrishna Kakkad, digging with the aid of machinery, had illegally excavated sand, gravel, macadam from Dudhna river bed, for the construction of 'Samruddhi' Expressway, causing ditches endangering human life. For the same, Brijesh Patel, CPM Anil Kumar, Jagdishsingh, Kishor Virji, Bhovan Rangani, contractors of Montecarlo Limited and Iron Triangle Limited are responsible and the same has caused death of his son Deepak, aged about 16 years and request for registering offence as referred above against these persons has been made.

(3.) Learned senior advocate Mr. Avinash Gupta appearing with learned advocate Mr. S.V. Adwant and Mr. Manish Shukla, contends that, factually, the applicants are not concerned at all with the ditches referred to in the first information report, much less applicants are personally involved in any such work. It is being referred to that a segment of Mumbai-Nagpur Super Expressway is being constructed through joint venture of Montecarlo Limited and Iron Triangle Limited at a distant place from the spot of incident. The work is being got done from sub-contractors through their employees. The sub- contractors have authorization of the appropriate authorities for an arrangement for supply of raw material from a spot far away from the place of incident. He contends that the applicants are absolutely unconcerned and unrelated with the incident and / or commission of alleged offence or otherwise.