NYAYA PANCHAYAT PALOG Vs. GHANU RAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India has been filed by the Nyaya Panchayat of village Palog Tehsil Arki district Mahasu through the Sarpanch Shri Mansha Ram and arises out of the following facts:

(2.) A complaint for offences under Secs. 406, 417 and 426, I. P. C., was filed against the respondent in the aforesaid Panchayat. He did not appear in response to the summons issued to him by the Panchayat which initiated a proceeding against him for an offence under Section 174, I. P. C., found him guilty of that offence and sentenced him to pay a fine of Rs. 80/-. The respondent filed an application in revision against the aforesaid order in the Court of Magistrate first class Solan. The learned Magistrate was of the opinion that in view of Section 91 of the Himachal Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act No. 6 of 1953, hereinafter to be referred as 'the Act', the Nyaya Panchayat did not have the power to impose a fine of more than Rs. 25/- for an offence under Section 174, I. P. C., and that the Nyaya Panchayat should have filed a complaint and not taken cognizance of the offence. He accordingly accepted the application in revision and set aside the order of the Nyaya Panchayat. The Nyaya Panchayat has felt aggrieved by the aforesaid order and has filed the .present petition on the following grounds: (a) that the Tehsildar Arki was invested with first class Magisterial powers and was competent to entertain the application in revision, (b) that the Magistrate first class Solan was not a Sub-Divisional Judge as contemplated by Section 2 (e) and Section 93 of the Act and was not competent to entertain the application in revision, (c) that Section 91 of the Act did not have any application when a person figuring as an accused before a Nyaya Panchayat wilfully omits to appear before it and (d) that no notice of the application in revision was issued to the petitioner.

(3.) The petition is opposed by the respondent and the grounds urged are that the Nyaya Panchayat has no locus standi to maintain the petition, that the Magistrate first class Solan was quite competent to entertain the application in revision and was quite correct in holding that the Nyaya Panchayat did not have the power to impose a fins in excess of Rs. 25/- and that it was not intentionally that he failed to appear before the Nyaya Panchayat rather he was sick and had sent an intimation for being exempted from attendance in Court and as such he was not liable to be convicted for the offence under Section 174, I. P. C.