Crl.O.P.No.6726 of 2025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS DATED: 10.03.2025 CORAM: THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE G.K.ILANTHIRAIYAN Crl.O.P.No.6726 of 2025 and Crl.M.P.No.4288 of 2025 Vengatesh ... Petitioner Vs 1. The State Represented By Its, Inspector of Police, Ambalur Police Station, Vellore District. 2. Sathish ... Respondents PRAYER: Criminal Original Petition is filed under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, to call for the records of pertaining to the Crime No.154 of 2016 pending on the file of the Respondent Police and quash the same. For Petitioner : Mr.Balaji Thirumoorthy For R1 : Mr.A.Gopinath Government Advocate (Crl.side) ORDER This petition has been filed to quash the FIR in Crime No.154 of 2016 on the file of the first Respondent Police. Page 1 of 6 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis Crl.O.P.No.6726 of 2025 2. Heard the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and the learned Government Advocate (Crl.side) for the first respondent and perused the materials placed on record. 3. The case of the prosecution is that the petitioner is working as a Driver. When he was proceeding from Bangalore to Chennai in the lorry, he had halted the lorry near a tea shop. At that juncture, the accused abused the defacto complainant regarding retaliation to Cauvery water dispute as if the defacto complainant belongs to another State and broken the glasses of the lorry by pelting stones. Hence, the complaint. 4. On receipt of the complaint, the first respondent registered FIR in Crime No.154 of 2016 for the offences punishable under Sections 147 and 294(b) of IPC, Section 3 of Tamil Nadu Open Places (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act, 1959 and Section 7(1)(a) of Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2005. 5. The FIR is pending from the year 2016. That apart, a perusal of FIR revealed that there is no allegation to attract the offence under Section 294(b) of https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis Crl.O.P.No.6726 of 2025 IPC. 6. To attract the offence under Section 294(b) of IPC, there must be an uttering of words to affect the person who lodged the complaint. In this regard it is relevant to extract the Section 294(b) of IPC, as follows :- "294. Obscene acts and songs — Whoever, to the annoyance of others— (a) does any obscene act in any public place, or (b) sings, recites or utters any obscene song, ballad or words, in or near any public place, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine, or with both." Admittedly, there is absolutely no words uttered by the petitioners as such to constitute the offence under Section 294(b) of IPC, there is no averments and allegations. Further the charges do not show that on hearing the obscene words, which were allegedly uttered by the petitioners, the witnesses felt annoyed. No one has spoken about the obscene words, they felt annoyed and in the absence of legal evidence to show that the words uttered by the petitioners annoyed others, it can not be said that the ingredients of the offence under Section 294(b) of IPC is made out. Page 3 of 6 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis Crl.O.P.No.6726 of 2025 7. It is relevant to rely upon the judgment reported in 1996(1) CTC 470 in the case of K.Jeyaramanuju Vs. Janakaraj & anr., which held as follows :- "To prove the offence under Section 294 of IPC mere utterance of obscence words are not sufficient but there must be a further proof to establish that it was to the annoyance of others, which is lacking in the case." The above judgment is squarely applicable to the present case and therefore, the offence under Section 294(b) of IPC is not at all attracted as against the petitioners. 8. In view of the above, the impugned FIR cannot be sustained and is liable to be quashed. Accordingly, the FIR in Crime No.154 of 2016 on the file of the first Respondent Police, is hereby quashed. 9. In the result, this Criminal Original Petition stands is allowed. Consequently, connected Miscellaneous petition is closed. 10.03.2025 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis Crl.O.P.No.6726 of 2025 Internet:Yes Index:Yes/No Speaking/Non speaking order mn https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis Crl.O.P.No.6726 of 2025 G.K.ILANTHIRAIYAN. J, mn To 1. The Inspector of Police, Ambalur Police Station, Vellore District. 2. The Public Prosecutor, High Court, Madras. Crl.O.P.No.6726 of 2025 10.03.2025 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis