MUNNI BEGUM Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The facts in this Criminal Revision which has been referred to this Court by the Addl. Sessions Judge Delhi are that Mst. Munni Begum, who will hereafter be referred to as. the petititoner, is the widow of Pir Wazir Ali Shah Warsi. He died in Delhi on 15/4/1967 and was buried by the petitioner in a room of her house No. 773, Phatak Karoli, Frash Khana Delhi. Inasmuch as the said house had not been set apart for making graves for burial of dead persons, she was called upon to remove the nuisance by service of notice under Section 398 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 but she failed to do so. A complaint was thereafter lodged against her by the Delhi Municipal Corporation for offences under Sections 397(l)(d), 398 and 461 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 in the court of a magistrate who issued summons for the appearance of the petitioner. Before she appeared in court an application was moved on her behalf under Section 205 of the Code of Criminal Procedure through her advocate Mr. Sultan. Yar Khan wherein it was stated that she was a purdahnashin lady and widow of a renowned religious leader and that her personal attendance may therefore be dispensed with and she may be allowed to appear through her pleader. The request was granted by the learned Magistrate Miss Vimla Bhagat by her order dated 2/6/1967. The offences alleged against the petitioner being petty offences, inasmuch as the maximum sentence that can be imposed on the petitioner is a fine of Rs. 50.00 only, the case is obviously triable as a summons-case. In response to the notice under Section 242 Cr. P.C. Mr. Sultan Yar Khan made a statement on behalf of the petitioner saying that she was not guilty. Learned Magistrate thereupon recorded statements of prosecution witnesses and passed an order directing the petitioner to appear in person for making a statement under Section 342 Criminal Procedure Code. The order of reference of Shri O. N. Vohra, Additional Sessions Judge, Delhi is not material for the purpose of this report and is hence omitted.

(2.) Dis-satisfied with the order made by the learned Magistrate requiring the personal attendance of the petitioner a revision was filed by her in the court of sessions which, as stated above, has resulted in this reference by the learned Addl. Sessions Judge Mr. O. N. Vohra with a recommendation that the order passed by the learned Magistrate be set aside and the personal appearance of the petitioner be dispensed with uptil the time the final order is made in the case and that she be not compelled to appear in person unless it is found necessary to execute the sentence of fine, in case such sentence is imposed on her and the petitioner is to be directed to be sent to jail in default of payment of fine.

(3.) Several authorities have been cited by the learned Addl. Sessions Judge in support of the recommendation made by him including a passage from a judgment of Rajasthan High Court in Begum Fejun Vs. The Sfate which read as :-