TAMMINEEDI SATYANARAYANA Vs. NEKKANTI SATYANARAYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, Tammineedi Satyanarayana, is the accused in C.C. No. 2 of 1960 on the file of the Village Panchayat Court, Achanta. He has filed this petition (citing section 526, Criminal Procedure Code) praying for transfer of that case from that Court to the Court of any Judicial Second Class Magistrate or any other Panchayat Court for disposal. The respondent is the complainant. The petitioner is permitted to convert this petition into one under clasuse 29 of the Letters Patent by means of an order in Criminal M.P. No. 981 of 1960.

(2.) The main objection raised on behalf of the complainant-respondent is that this petition is not maintainable according to law, as section 77 of the Madras Village Courts Act (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act') is a bar to its maintainability. Section 77 of the said Act runs as follows :

(3.) Under this clause, this High Court has the power to transfer the case unaffected by the fact that under section 77of the Act, the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code or transfer, i.e., section 526, Criminal Procedure Code, are not made applicable. The effect of section 77 of the Act is that this Court cannot order transfer of the case under its powers under section 526, Criminal Procedure Code. But all the same, the power to transfer under Clause 29 of the Letters Patent (which is independent of section 526, Criminal Procedure Code), remains.