AKSHAY ANANT MATKAR Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. Learned APP waives service for Respondent No. 1 & Respondent No. 2. Taken up for final disposal with consent of parties.

(2.) This matter was initially heard along with Criminal Public Interest Litigation No. 15 of 2022, in which notices were issued on 7/2/2023 and learned Counsel for the Petitioner in Criminal PIL was directed to supply spare copy in the Registry and condition was imposed that if such spare copy is not supplied within the stipulated time, the Criminal PIL will stand dismissed for non prosecution without further reference to the Court. Today when the matter is listed before us and argued, there is a office note dtd. 29/3/2023 stating that as per order dtd. 7/2/2023 the Advocate for the Petitioner has not supplied spare copy in said Criminal PIL and therefore, the conditional orders stands, which means that the said Criminal PIL has been dismissed without further reference to the Court, as on today. In such situation the present Criminal Writ Petition is pressed before us by learned Counsel for the Petitioner and it is argued finally.

(3.) This is a Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India read with Sec. 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code, for quashing and setting aside FIR No. 416 of 2022 registered with Koregaon Police Station District Satara for offence punishable under Ss. 12(a) of the Maharashtra Prevention of Gambling Act, 1887 ("the said Act" for short)