SECRETARY MALABAR MARKET COMMITTEE Vs. BAPUTTY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Secretary of the Malabar Market Committee had filed a complaint C. C. No. 8 of I960 before the Munsiff-Magistrate of Ponnani against the respondent Under Section 19 (2) of the Madras Commercial Crops Markets Act. 1933 read with Bye-law No. 25 (6) and (18) of the bye-laws framed by the Committee. The accused in the case is a licensee carrying on his trade in arecanuts within a radius of 5 miles of the regulated market at vattamkulam. Under Bye-law 25 (6), the licensee shall maintain regular accounts of all his transactions in commercial crops in prescribed form and shall send to the Secretary such reports and returns as may from time to time be required by him.

(2.) THAT Pw. 1 the Secretary of the Market Committee had issued notices calling for the returns, that the notices, were received and acknowledged and that they were not submitted is admitted. The case of the accused was that on a prior occasion a criminal complaint had been filed against him in C. C. No. 15 of 1959 for failure to send the returns, that the case was withdrawn and he was acquitted and therefore that acquittal will be a bar for a trial for the same offence. The learned Magistrate accepted the contention and acquitted the accused. This appeal has been filed challenging the correctness of the order of acquittal.

(3.) IF Section 403, Cr. PC is applicable the respondent could not have been put on his trial at all in this case. Section 403 does not say that a person' who has been the and convicted or acquitted shall be acquitted if an attempt is made to prosecute him again for the same offence. It gays that he shall not be tried at all. That however is a1. minor matter.