JASWANT SINGH Vs. PRITAM KAUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) On a police report under Section 145 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, an Executive Magistrate, trying the case, made an order adverse to the petitioners, Jaswant Singh and Surjit Singh, and their father, Shivdev Singh, on 24th May, 1965. It is not necessary to go into the details of that order for the present purpose. The petitioners made a revision application against that order of the Executive Magistrate in the Court of the Sessions Judge at Ferozepore. The application was heard by the Second Additional Sessions Judge who, on 27th July, 1965, recommended interference by this Court in the order of the Executive Magistrate to a certain extent explained by the learned Judge in this order of reference.

(2.) On the reference coming for hearing before Jindra Lal, J., the learned counsel for the respondents relying on Budh Ram v. Puran Dass, 1966 68 PunLR 490 urged that the order of the learned Sessions Judge making reference of the case to this Court was without jurisdiction, but the learned counsel for the petitioners contended otherwise. In these circumstances Jindra Lal, J. was of the opinion that an important question as to the jurisdiction of a Sessions Judge in such circumstances has arisen and as it is likely to arise in future, so the answer to the question should be given by a larger Bench. This is how the case comes before this Bench.

(3.) The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, suffered considerable amendment by reason of the enactment of the Punjab Separation of Judicial and Executive Functions Act, 1964 (Punjab Act 25 of 1964), which was brought into force on October 2, 1964. The reference to the sections of the Code is, unless stated otherwise, to the thus amended Code. Section 6 deals with classes of Courts which are two, that is to say, (i) Courts of Session; and (ii) Courts of Magistrates. Section 6-A concerns the classes of Magistrates and there is first, Judicial Magistrates, and secondly, Executive Magistrates. There are four types of Judicial Magistrates, including Chief Judicial Magistrates at number one, and again there are four types of Executive Magistrates, including District Magistrates at number one, and Sub-Divisional Magistrates at number two, but both classes of Magistrates come under the classification of 'Courts of Magistrates' in Section 6. Section 17-B reads :-