(1.) In this Criminal Revision case, which has been referred to a Division Bench by our learned brother Jaganmohan Reddy. J. as " if involves a question of law which is of general application", the question that falls for determination is whether in n preliminary Register case, that is to say, in a case triable exclusively by a Court of Session, the police can first file what is called a "preliminary charge sheet" before a Magistrate, who is to hold an inquiry under Section 207-A, Cr. P. C., then continue the investigation and eventually file a "final charge-sheet", deleting the names of some of the persons who had been included in the list of accused in the preliminary charge-sheet: and when such a final charge-sheet is filed, whether the Magistrate can accept it as a police report under Section 173 (1). Criminal Procedure Code and proceed with the preliminary inquiry only against the persons named in the final charge sheet. In other words, In such a case, does not Magistrate take cognizance of the offence upon the preliminary charge-sheet or upon the final charge-sheet ? (2A) In the present case the above question arises in the following way. On 18-5-1964 the Sub-Inspector of Police, Nandigama, filed before the Judicial Second Class Magistrate, Nandi-gama, what was described as a preliminary charge-sheet in Crime No. 40 of 1964 in respect of offences under Sections 147. 148, 323, 324, 325, 307, and 302 I. P C., against 18 persons named therein who were shown as accused Nos. 1 to 18. The last paragraph of that preliminary charge-shed reads thus : " Investigation is not yet completed. Final charge-sheet with complete list of P. Ws will be submitted after completing the investigation
(2.) The learned Magistrate took the case on file, numbered it as P R. C. No. 1 of 1964, remanded to custody such of the accused (including accused No. 18) as had been arrested, and issued non-bailable warrants against the other accused (including Accused Nos. 16 and 17) He, however, made endorsements on the docket of the case-file adjourning the inquiry from time to time, in order to enable the police to complete their investigation and file a final charge-sheet.
(3.) The police continued their investigation, examined fresh witnesses and held two identification parades As a result of this investigation, the police were apparently satisfied that Accused Nos. 16, 17 and 18 had been falsely implicated. Ultimately after completing the investigation, the police filed a final charge-sheet on 24-8-1964 against Accused Nos. 1 to 15 only, omitting Accused Nos. 16, 17 and 18 from the list of the accused. Thereupon the learned Magistrate released Accused 18 from custody, withdrew the non-bailable warrants which had been issued For the arrest of Accused Nos. 16 and 17 and fixed a date for the inquiry. Thereupon one Bandi Kotayya, who had been cited in the charge-sheet as a prosecution witness, filed a petition before the Judicial Second Class Magistrate (Cri. M. P. 280/64). In P. R. C. No. 1 of 1964) contend ing that the police had acted illegally in deleting the names of Accused Nos. 16 to 18 in the final charge-sheet; that the Magistrate had also acted illegally in deciding not to proceed against those three accused after having taken cognizance of the case against all the 18 accused named in the preliminary charge-sheet; and that the only course open to the Magistrate was to have discharged those three accused under Section 207-A (6), Criminal Procedure Code, if he was of opinion that upon the material placed before him, there were no grounds for committing them for trial. The learned Magistrate dismissed the petition, holding that the Court had not taken cognizance of the case at all on 18-5-1964 when the preliminary charge-sheet was filed but that it had taken cognizance of it only on 24-8-19(54 when the final charge-sheet was filed, and so the preliminary enquiry could lawfully be proceeded with in respect of the amised impleaded in the final charge-sheet. The present revision petition has been preferred by Bandi Kotayya, challenging the correctness of the order of the learned Magistrate.