BAHAR HUSAIN Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an application, in revision by Bahar Husain and another, who stood sureties for one Mohammad Husain. Mohammad Husain was arrested and produced before a Magistrate at Mora-dabad where he applied for being enlarged on bail. The two applicants stood sureties on his behalf and they executed a surety bond on 9-9-1952. This surety bond was in the sum of Rs. 500/- and by this bond the sureties had undertaken to produce the accused in that Court and also to produce him before another Court if so ordered. It appears that the accused made his appearance in Court only once, that is to say, on 8-8-1952. Thereafter, the accused did not appear and several opportunities were given to the sureties to bring him to the Court but the sureties were unable to do so. The Court below, therefore, ordered the bond executed by the sureties to be forfeited to the State in the sum of Rs. 500/-.

(2.) A revision was preferred by the sureties and the Court below has dismissed that revision. Two points were urged before the Court below: one was that, the Railway Magistrate at Moradabad. in whose Court the bond had been executed, had no jurisdiction to take the bond, 'inasmuch as, the offence, in respect of which bail had been allowed and the bond executed, had been committed beyond the territorial jurisdiction of that Magistrate; and the second point urged was that in the circumstances of the case the entire amount of the bond should not have been forfeited.

(3.) The two arguments which were advanced before the lower Court were reiterated by Mr. Gyanendra Kumar before me; also he raised two other points as well. The first of these points was that there being no bond in this case by the accused himself, the bond which had been executed by the sureties was unenforceable because under Section 499, Criminal P. C. a surety could only come into existence as also a validly enforceable bond only after there had been a bond by the accused himself; and the second point that was raised by Mr. Gyanendra Kumar was that there being no specific mention in the bond 'of the Court in which the accused had to be produced the bond could not be enforced against the sureties for their non-production of the accused.