CHIKKAMARIYAMMA Vs. H ANANTHARAMSINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Criminal Petition one under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (the Code) is directed against the order dated 10-10-1984 in C. C. No. 800/84 (C. R. No. 37/34) passed by the Munsiff & JMFC, Chintamani, directing issue of process to the petitioners who accused Nos. 1 and 2 for offences under Sections 43(5) and (6) of the Karnataka Rent Control Act, 1961 (for short ' the Act') and also for an offence under S. 193 I.P.C, against the 2nd petitioner.

(2.) The matter arises in this way : The respondent (who will be referred to as the complainant) presented a private complaint against the petitioners (who will be referred to as the accused). The Magistrate, following the procedure laid-down in Chapter XV of the Code, directed issue of process against the accused as stated above. It is the correctness of this order that is sought to be challenged in this criminal petition, by the accused.

(3.) This petition may be disposed off on a short point. The trial Magistrate directed to issue process against the accused for two sets of offences vjz., offences under Section 43 (5) and (6) of the Act against both the accused and under Section 193 I. P. C. against the second accused only as, in his opinion, there was sufficient ground for proceeding. The trial Magistrate took action in issuing the process against the accused upon a complaint filed by the complainant. It is provided under Section 51 (a) of the Act that the Controller or any other officer authorised by the State Government in this behalf may prosecute any person for contravention of any of the provisions of the Act or any rule made thereunder. The scope and ambit of Section 51 (a) came up for consideration before this Court in Syed Jaffar v. Syed Ahmed, Kar. L. J. 1980 (2) 358. It was held in this decision that the Magistrate has no jurisdiction to entertain a complaint by a private person for offences under the Act in view of Section 51 (a) which empowers only the authority mentioned in the section to institute proceedings for contravention of the provisions of the Act.