Wasim S/o. Akhtar Jimari vs State Of Maharashtra

Heard.

Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. Heard finally by consent of the learned counsels for the parties.

The applicant seeks quashing of First Information Report (FIR) No.658/2026 registered with Police Station Ramnagar, Dist. Chandrapur for the offences punishable under Sections 26(2)(iv), 3, 30(2)(a), 4, 59 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (for short, “the Act of 2006”) and Sections 223, 275 and 49 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS).

The brief facts of the case, as per the FIR, are as under:-

That on 18.05.2026, the complainant- Sunil Gourkar, Police Sub-Inspector attached to the Crime Branch, Chandrapur along with other staff were patrolling the area of Ramnagar Police Station, Dist. Chandrapur. After receipt of a secret information, they conducted a raid at the house of co-accused- Siddhant Madhav Gondane and found Hookah Tobacco at his house. The said Hookah Tobacco were seized and during the investigation it was revealed that the said Hookah Tobacco was brought by the co-accused from the present applicant. Therefore, on the complaint of the complainant, the aforesaid offences came to be registered against the applicant and the co-accused.

The contention of the learned counsel for the applicant is two fold. Firstly, the applicant is made accused in this crime solely based on the statement of the co-accused and there is no material whatsoever connecting the applicant with this crime. He further submitted that the statement of the co-accused is not admissible under the law. Another submission of the learned counsel for the applicant is that the said Hookah Tobacco does not fall within the purview of the Act of 2006 and therefore, the ban imposed by the State of Maharashtra does not apply to the present case. According to him, the present case is squarely covered by the decision of this Court at Principal Bench in Writ Petition No. 1204/2026 and connected matter decided on 06.04.2026.

Heard learned APP appearing for the non-applicant/State. He objected the application on the ground that all these facts are matter of trial. Moreover, the contentions of the applicant can be appreciated during the Trial. Hence, sought rejection of the application.

Perusal of the FIR does not depicts that there is any material against the applicant indicating his involvement except the statement of the co-accused. It is further revealed that only Hookah Tobacco has been seized by the Police in the raid. It is to be noted here that identical issue arose before the Division Bench of this Court at Principal Seat in Writ Petition No.1204/2026 along with other connected Writ Petitions wherein an affidavit dated 02.04.2026 was filed by the Joint Secretary, Medical Education and Drugs Department (MEDD), Mantralaya, Mumbai. The decision of the Division Bench of this Court depicts that the Joint Secretary, MEDD has stated on oath that flavored Hookah Tobacco does not fall within the definition of “food” under the Act of 2006 and relying on the said affidavit, those petitions were disposed of by the Division Bench of this Court.

Hence, in view of the stand taken by the State Government before the Division Bench of this Court and in wake of the affidavit filed by the Joint Secretary, MEDD in that petition as well as the fact that present case is identical to the decision of the Division Bench of this Court in Writ Petition No.1204/2026 holding that Hookah Tobacco does not come under the definition of the “food” under the Act of 2006, the FIR lodged in the present crime does not stand and is required to be quashed by exercising the inherent powers of this Court. It is further clarified that since the allegations on the face of the record do not disclose any offence, this Court in exercise of its inherent powers may extend the benefit of quashing even to the co-accused persons who are not before this Court as an applicant, so as to prevent abuse of process and to secure the ends of justice. Hence, I proceed to pass the following order:-

The application is allowed.

ii) (FIR) No.658/2026 registered with Police Station Ramnagar, Dist. Chandrapur for the offence punishable under Sections 26(2)(iv), 3, 30(2)(a), 4, 59 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and Sections 223, 275 and 49 of the BNS is quashed and set aside qua applicant- Wasim Akhtar Jimari as well as co-accused-Siddhant Madhav Gondane and Mohd. Akhil Shakil Sheikh.

iii) Rule is made absolute in the above-said terms.