GUNDI SAHU Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a petition under Section 407(1)(c) of the new Criminal Procedure Code, 1974 by which it is prayed that the G. R. Case No. 215 of 1972 now pending in the court of the Sub -divisional Judicial Magistrate, Khurda be committed to the Court of Session, Puri as this case is only a counter -case of the Sessions Trial No. 37 of 1973 now pending before the said Sessions Court.

(2.) MR . Bohidar, the learned counsel for the petitioners, submits that in the interest of justice and for the general convenience of the parties and the witnesses the above mentioned case pending before the Sub -divisional Judicial Magistrate, Khurda should be committed to the Court of Session, so that both the cases can be tried by one and the same Judge and can be properly adjudicated and disposed of by the same court.

(3.) COUNSEL appearing for the opposite parties contend that the case which is now pending before the Sub -divisional Judicial Magistrate, Khurda is exclusively triable by a Magistrate and therefore such a case cannot be committed to the Court of Session. The High Court's power to pass an order under Section 407(1)(c)(iii), Criminal Procedure Code is not limited in its scope only to cases triable by the Court of Session. The wordings of that section clearly show that the High Court can exercise that power in respect of any type of criminal cases. So this petition for committing the aforesaid G.R. case pending before the Sub -divisional Judicial Magistrate, Khurda, to the Court of Session is maintainable in law. Moreover, it wrong to say that a case triable by a Magistrate cannot be committed to a Court of Session. Under Section 323 of the new Code, if in any inquiry into an offence or a trial before a Magistrate, it appears to him at any stage of the proceedings before signing judgement that the case is one which ought to be tried by the Court of Session, he shall commit it to that court under the provisions contained in the Code. Under this section a Magistrate can commit any type of criminal case to the Court of Session if he feels that the same ought to be tried by that court, and this power is in addition to his power under Section 209 of the Code to commit cases exclusively triable by the Court of Session to that court.