GEETA DEVI AGARWAL Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These petitions under Articles-226 and 227 of The Constitution of India have been filed with a prayer to quash the criminal proceedings emanating from Case No. 2 (C) CC No. 07 of 2011, for the alleged commission of offenses under Ss. -4(1), 4(1A,)21(1) and 23 of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 and Under Rules 3, 6, 12(3), 12(4) and 18 of the Orissa Minerals (Prevention of theft, Smuggling and illegal mining and Regulation of Possession, Storage, Trading and Transportation) Rules, 2007, which is pending in the Court of learned J.M.F.C, Kujanga.

(2.) Shorn of unnecessary details, the facts of the present matter are as follows:

(3.) Learned Counsel for the petitioners Shri Bhabani Shankar Tripathy vehemently submits that the learned J.M.F.C, Kujanga, has taken cognizance of the complaint case 2(c) C.C. No. 7/201 without verifying the genuineness of the allegation. The petitioner had moved this court on an earlier occasion vide WPCRL No. 197/2011 for quashing the said complaint case, but the court was not inclined to interfere with the proceeding of the court below at that point in time since the investigation of the case was underway. However, the court had dismissed the petition with an observation to move the court at a subsequent stage of the proceeding. Further, the investigation is now complete and the charged sheet has already been submitted. It is clearly evinced out in the charge sheet that the transit passes were issued by M/s. Gananayak and Co for the vehicle bearing Regd. No. OR-05W-0779, which belonged belonged to Sri Trupti Ranjan Das. Prima Facie evidence to bring in charges under Ss. -420, 468, 471 and 34 of I. P.C., against the Sajjan Kumar Joshi, the proprietor of M/s. Gananayak and Co. have been found. The charge sheet has been filed against Kumar Joshi, the proprietor of M/s. Gananayak and Co. However, no incriminating evidence is found against the petitioners or M/s. GNG Exports so as to sustain the complaint case. Furthermore, the Mining Officer, Cuttack had lodged an FIR before the lIC, Tangi Police , Cuttack in Tangi P.S. Case No. 7/2011 dt.9/11/2010 corresponding to G.R. Case No. 60/2011 pending before the court of learned SDJM(S), Cuttack, with specific allegations against M/s. Gananayak and Co. for forging 121 Transit Passes which were used for transporting Iron Ore Fines. The Deputy Director Mines, Jajpur Road had deliberately and wilfully suppressed the aforesaid facts and filed the aforesaid case in furtherance of the motive to harass and humiliate the petitioners by arraying them in multiple criminal proceedings. Continuing with such proceedings will be nothing but the blatant abuse of the process of law. No case against M/s. GNG Exports is made out since they were bona fide purchasers of iron ores from M/s. Gananayak and Co., and were under the impression that the transit passes were valid and not forged. Moreover, as the exporter M/s. GNG Exporters had very little means of determining the genuineness of the transit passes.