HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD APPLICATION U/S 528 BNSS No. - 36333 of 2025 Court No. - 77 HON'BLE SAURABH SRIVASTAVA, J. 1. Heard learned counsel for the applicants and learned AGA for the State. 2. The instant application under Section 528 BNSS has been preferred to quash charge-sheet dated 11.06.2021 along with cognizance/summoning order dated 03.09.2022 as well as the entire proceedings arising out of Case Crime No.1004 of 2018, under Sections 3/7 Essential Commodities Act and sections 420, 465, 468, 470, 471 I.P.C. section 66D IT (Amendment) Act, 2000 and section 34 of Aadhar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, Police Station- Kotwali Nagar, District- Muzaffarnagar, pending before learned court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, First, Muzaffarnagar. 3. Learned counsel for applicants has submitted that the allegation against the applicants is about manipulating the Aadhaar data base of the beneficiaries of the Public Distribution System maintained with the respondents and linked to their Aadhaar card. It is argued that once a beneficiary and his data is entered in data base and linked to the Aadhaar, called 'seeding', there is technically no possibility of manipulating the beneficiaries data base by anyone except the NIC or the District Supply Officer or a person authorized for the purpose by the District Supply Officer. The E-POS machine used by the fair price shop dealer for the purpose of distribution cannot technically be used to manipulate the date nor can it be manipulated by any other means. In number of other cases, the same issues are engaging the attention of this Court. 4. Matter requires consideration. Versus Counsel for Applicant(s) : Vishal Tandon Counsel for Opposite Party(s) : G.A. Smt Tahira And 2 Others .....Applicant(s) State Of U.P. And Another .....Opposite Party(s) 5. Issue notice to opposite party no. 2, returnable at an early date. 6. Steps be taken within a week. 7. After service of notice, all the opposite parties may prefer counter affidavit within four weeks. Two weeks thereafter for rejoinder, if any. 8. List after exchange of pleadings with connected matter. 9. Till the next date of listing, further proceedings arising out of Case Crime No.1004 of 2018, under Sections 3/7 Essential Commodities Act and sections 420, 465, 468, 470, 471 I.P.C. section 66D IT (Amendment) Act, 2000 and section 34 of Aadhar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, Police Station- Kotwali Nagar, District- Muzaffarnagar, pending before learned court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, First, Muzaffarnagar, shall remain stayed in respect of applicants herein. 10. However, it is made clear that the above-mentioned protection has been granted only in respect of fair price shop owners concerned, the same shall not be applicable in case of service provider/ agency holder/ operator of E- POS machine. September 19, 2025 Vivek Kr. NA528 No. 36333 of 2025 2 (Saurabh Srivastava,J.) Digitally signed by :- VIVEK KUMAR High Court of Judicature at Allahabad