STATE OF PUNJAB Vs. BOHAR SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner State's application filed under section 4 10, Cr.P C. (for short the Code) for the transfer of case, i.e., FIR No 127 date June 19, 1984, under section 25 of the Arms Act, pending against the respondent in the Court of Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate, at Moga, to the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sangrur has been dismissed vide the impugned order dated December 16, 1986 on the ground that the said Chief Judicial Magistrate has no jurisdiction, to transfer the said case out of his jurisdiction, i.e., outside the Sessions Division Faridkot. Mr. Saron, learned State counsel impugns this order on the short ground that the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Faridkot, appears to have passed this order in ignorance of the notification dated March 15, 1985, whereby the jurisdiction of the different Chief Judicial Magistrates in the State of Punjab except that of C. J. M. Patiala and the Additional Senior Sub Judge cum-Judicial Magistrate Ist Class posted at Nabha, has been extended to the entire State of Punjab. This notification reads as follows :

(2.) A bare reading of this notification it manifestly clear that all the Chief Judicial Magistrates except the one referred to earlier have been made Judicial Magistrate of 1st Class in the entire State of Punjab except their own local areas, i.e., Session Division in which they have been posted as Chief Judicial Magistrate. In a nutshell, 'by virtue of this notification, C.J.M Faridkot becomes the Judicial Magistrate of Ist Class for the entire area of the State of Punjab other than that of the Sessions Division, Faridkot. Similarly the Chief Judicial Magistrate at Sangrur, though remains the C.J M. for his local area, i. e., Sessions Division, Sangrur, but becomes a Judicial Magistrate for the rest of the State of Punjab. In the light of this factual position, the C.J.M Faridkot, to my mind was certainly competent to transfer the case in question pending in the Court of Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Moga, i.e. a Magistrate subordinate to him to the Court of C.J.M Sangrur who by virtue of the above noted notification had become a Judicial Magistrate for the entire State of Punjab excluding his own local jurisdiction as C.J.M. For this expression of opinion I rely on the following observations made in an earlier case i.e., Lalta Prasad Saxena v. State, AIR 1952 Allahabad 70, while interpreting section 14 of the Criminal Procedure Code (old), which provision is in pari materia with section 11(I-A) of the new Code as inserted by virtue of Punjab Act No. 9 of 1978 with effect from April 14, 1978 :