STATE Vs. ABDULLAH THAKUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a reference made by the Sessions Judge of Anantnag recommending that the order of commitment passed by the Additional District Magistrate, Anantnag, on 5th May, 1967 be quashed and that he be directed to proceed with the case according to law.

(2.) THE facts which gave rise to this reference, briefly stated, are these:

(3.) THE accused, 32 in number, were committed by the Additional District Magistrate, Anantnag, to stand their trial for offences under Sections 148, 395 and 397 read with Section 34 R. P. C. The case was started against the accused on the report of police Anantnag on 5th May, 1966. Hakeem Ghulam Hassan, the Additional District Magistrate, entertained the challan and treated it as a warrant case. On the basis of police documents he framed charges against all the accused and started recording evidence of the prosecution witnesses. He was transferred and Mr. Sharief-ud-Din took over from him as Additional District Magistrate. He having realised the procedural error committed by his predecessor committed the accused to the Court of Session without recording the evidence of the witnesses cited by the prosecution. The Sessions Judge has recommended that the committal order cannot be sustained on the ground that there were eyewitnesses cited by the prosecution and the Additional District Magistrate ought to have recorded the evidence of all those persons who had actually witnessed the commission of the alleged offence. He has further remarked that the Additional District Magistrate has committed a serious illegality in not complying with the provisions of Sub-section (4) of Section 207a, Criminal P. C. He has also observed that the attention of the Additional District Magistrate had not been invited to the provisions of Section 347, Criminal P. C. and therefore he had fallen into an error in committing the accused to Sessions.