CHANDU SATYANARAYANA Vs. STATE S H O KOLLIPARA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an application to revise the order of the Judicial Second Class Magistrate, Tenali, dated 6-8-1958, made in M. P, No. 46 of 1958 in P. R. C. No. 1 of 1958, rejecting the petition of the petitioner requesting to record the evidence of P. Ws. 5, 7 and others, who speak to the alleged offence of conspiracy under Section 120-B, I. P. C., which is one of the offences included in the charge-sheet against him, as, according to the petitioner, these witnesses were eye-witnesses or witnesses to the actual commission of the offence of conspiracy. The learned Magistrate rejected this petition on the ground that the materials so far placed before him and the records available with him, were sufficient to make out a case and that an earlier petition by the same petitioner, viz., the 8th accused, had been rejected. The learned Magistrate also pointed out that the matter was only at the stage of preliminary enquiry and all that had to be considered was whether a prima facie case had been made out.

(2.) The question for decision in this Revision Petition depends on the interpretation of Section 207-A, Clause (4). which is as follows: "207-A. x x x x x (4) The Magistrate shall then proceed to take the evidence of such persons, if any, as may be produced by the prosecution as witnesses to the actual commission of the offence alleged; and if the Magistrate is of opinion that it is necessary in the interests of justice to take the evidence of any one or more of the other witnesses for the prosecution, he may take such evidence also."

(3.) As is clear from the plain wording of the clause, the witnesses whom the Magistrate could examine during the preliminary enquiry are of two categories: The first category consists of the witnesses to the actual commission of the offence alleged, and the second category consists of one or more of the other witnesses for the prosecution" (other than witnesses to the actual commission of the offence). In the case of the former, the section makes it imperative on the Magistrate to examine those witnesses and in the case of latter a discretion is given, in that the Magistrate need examine only such of those witnesses as he considered necessary to be examined in the interests of justice.