ABDUL SATTAR Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By way of filing this instant Criminal Misc. Petition under Sec. 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the petitioner seeks quashing of FIR No. 0073/2022 dtd. 24/3/2022, lodged at Police Station Chohtan, District Barmer, for the alleged offence under Sec. 17(4) of the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970, and Sec. 15(2) of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956.

(2.) The present case stemmed from a complaint lodged by respondent No. 2 against the petitioner at Police Station Chohtan, District Barmer, alleging that the petitioner had been engaged in medical practice without possessing the requisite legal documents. It had been asserted that, in the presence of the Additional Chief Medical & Health Officer, Barmer, and the Tehsildar, Tehsil Dhanau, a team had conducted a raid at Jodhpur Medical & General Store, Itada, District Jodhpur, where the petitioner had been allegedly found practicing medicine. During the raid, certain medical equipment, medicines, and bills had been recovered and subsequently seized. On the basis of the said complaint, FIR No. 0073/2022 dtd. 24/3/2022 had been registered against the petitioner for offences under Sec. 17(4) of the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970, and Sec. 15(2) of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. However, the petitioner contended that he had been falsely implicated, as he had merely been engaged in the sale of medicines and medical instruments in his duly licensed medical store, Jodhpur Medical & General Store, and had never undertaken any form of medical practice. It had further been averred that, prior to the registration of the FIR, the petitioner had received a show-cause notice dtd. 23/3/2022 from the Block Chief Medical Officer, Chohtan, alleging that he had been practicing allopathy without authorization and directing him to submit relevant documents and an explanation within three days. However, the impugned FIR had been registered on the very next day, without affording the petitioner an opportunity to be heard, thereby violating the principles of natural justice and audi alteram partem. Aggrieved by the registration and investigation of the impugned FIR, and having no alternative remedy, the petitioner had approached this Court by way of the present petition under Sec. 482 Cr.P.C., seeking quashing of the FIR.

(3.) The learned counsel for the petitioner had contended that the impugned FIR had been lodged with a malafide intent to harass him, despite the absence of any prima facie offence. It had been asserted that the petitioner, being duly qualified with a Diploma in Pharmacy (D. Pharma) and possessing a valid license to run a medical store, had merely been engaged in the lawful business of selling medicines and medical instruments, without practicing medicine in any manner. The petitioner had further submitted that he had been served with a show-cause notice dtd. 23/3/2022 by the Block Chief Medical Officer, Chohtan, directing him to furnish documents and an explanation within three days; however, the impugned FIR had been registered on the very next day, without affording him an opportunity of being heard, thereby violating the principles of natural justice and audi alteram partem. It had been urged that the allegations in the FIR were ex-facie baseless and did not disclose any cognizable offence, rendering its continuation a manifest abuse of the process of law. The petitioner had, therefore, prayed for the quashing of the impugned FIR under the inherent jurisdiction of this Court under Sec. 482 Cr.P.C., to prevent undue harassment and miscarriage of justice.