R.M. Lodha, J. - (1.) Leave granted.
(2.) The Agricultural Market Committee, Bhimavaram have preferred these eight appeals, by special leave, against the common judgment dated April 21, 2010 passed by the High Court of Andhra Pradesh whereby the Single Judge of that Court allowed the petitions filed by the private Respondents under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short Code) and quashed the criminal proceedings against them for non-payment of market fee assessed under Section 12B(5) of the A.P. Agricultural (Produce and Livestock) Markets Act, 1966 (for short, the Act).
(3.) For the sake of convenience, we shall notice the facts from one of the appeals, viz., Agricultural Market Committee, A.P. v. M.K. Exports, A.P. The Respondents - M/s M.K. Exports in that appeal are traders and were given license by the Appellants for doing business in prawns, a notified commodity under the Act. For the assessment years 1998-99 and 1999-2000, the assessment of market fees was done after giving exemption to a certain turnover on purchases effected outside the notified area of the Appellants on the basis of the returns submitted by the Respondents under the Act.;