MOHAMMAD ISHAQ Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The applicant challenges his conviction under Section 7 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1932. He is a retired sub-inspector of police and was President of the police Union of Non-Gazetted Personnel, Sultanpur, since 1-9-1957. A warrant for his arrest for the offence of Section 3 of the Police Incitement of Disaffection Act was issued and a Circle Inspector went to execute it. He arrested the applicant who intimidated him saying that his arrest would not stop the Union activities and that he would make false complaints against him and get him dismissed. Thereupon an offence of Section 7, Criminal Law Amendment Act, was registered against him and the police investigated the matter, arrested the applicant and prosecuted him. He has been convicted by the Courts below. The conviction is fully supported by evidence, which the Courts below were justified in relying upon. The threat given by the applicant to the Circle Inspector brought him within the four corners of Section 7 (1) (a) of the Criminal Law Amendment Act and he was rightly convicted.

(2.) The applicant challenges His conviction principally on the ground that Section 7, Criminal Law Amendment Act, is ultra vires because it infringes Article 14 of the Constitution.

(3.) "Criminal intimidation" is defined in Section 503, I. P. C. to mean threatening another person with any injury to his person, reputation and property with intent to cause alarm to that person, or to cause that person to do any act which he is not legally bound to do or to omit to do any act which he is legally entitlel to do, as the means of avoiding the execution of such threat. Whoever commits the offence of criminal intimidation is punishable under Section 506, I. P. C. with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both, and if the threat be to cause death etc., with imprisonment which may extend to seven years. The offence punishable under Section 506 is bailable, compoundable and triable by a Magistrate of the first or second class and not cognizable; if the threat be to cause death etc. it is not compoundable and can be tiled by a Magistrate of the first class only. Section 10 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act authorizes the State Government by notification in the Gazette to declare that the offence be cognizable and non-bailable; the State Government had issued a notification declaring it to be cognizable and non-bailable but withdrew it in 1935 and the position at the time when the applicant committed the offence and was tried was that the offence of Section 506, I. P. C., was bailable and non-cognizable. Since the applicant threatened the Inspector with an injury to his reputation and property with intent to cause alarm to him and to cause him to omit to do the act of arresting him which he was legally entitled to do, as the means of avoiding the execution of the threat, he committed criminal intimidation and was liable to be prosecuted and punished under Section 506, I. P. C. Had he been prosecuted under it, there would ordinarily have been no investigation by the police because the offence was not cognizable, he could not be arrested without a warrant and he would have been entitled to be released on bail as a matter of right. He could have also compounded the offence with the Inspector. But he was prosecuted not for this offence but for the offence of Section 7, Criminal Law Amendment Act. This Act was enacted to supplement the criminal law by amending certain Acts. Section 7 (1) (a) of it creates a new offence of intimidating a person with intent to cause him to abstain from doing any act which he has a right to do, and doing certain other acts. It is punishable with imprisonment of either description for a term which, may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to Rs. 500/-, or with both. No Court can take cognizance of this offence except upon a report in writing of the facts which constitute it made by a police officer not below the rank of an officer in charge of a police station; the offence is triable by a Magistrate of the first class, is cognizable and is non-bailable and not compoundable. The applicant was arrested by the police without a warrant and bail was refused to him and he remained in the lockup till his conviction.