KISHAN LAL Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) KISHAN Lal & 8 others have invoked inherent jurisdiction of this court by way of an application under section 482, Cr. P. C. for quashing the order of the learned Additional Sessions Judge No. 1, Jaipur City, dated June 6, 1981, by which the revision application filed by Ladu Ram, complainant, was accepted & the order of the learned Judicial Magistrate No. 14, Jaipur City, dated October 21, 1980, was set aside and the learned Magistrate was directed to comply with the provisions of sections 207 and 208 Cr. P. C. and to commit the 9 applicants to the court of the Sessions Judge under section 209, Cr. P. C. By this very order the learned Additional Sessions Judge cancelled the bail of all the applicants on the application of Laduarm for cancellation of bail.

(2.) THE short facts giving rise to this application under Sec. 482, Cr. P. C. are as follows: On July 13, 1978, Ramlal son of Ladulal Dhanka resident of Sodala, Jaipur, lodged a first information report with the police at police station, Sadar, Jaipur, wherein it was alleged that Kishan Lal, Ram Prasad, Madan, Sita Ram and Hunuman applicants beat him and his brother Bhanwar Lal with lathis on a false pretext that the informant had damaged the electric bulb installed by the Government for light. On the basis of this report the police registered a criminal case under section 323 and 147, IPC and took up usual investigation into the matter. After collecting necessary evidence the police filed a charge-sheet against the aforesaid five applicants only under sec-tions 147 and 323 IPC in the court of the Judicial Magistrate No. 14, Jaipur City. Ram Lal's father Ladu Ram, however, gathered an impression in the course of the police-investigation that the police was not investigating the case in a fair and impartial manner against all the miscreants and so he filed a complaint under sections 307, 148 read with Sec. 149, IPC against the 9 applicants (including the five) lateron challenged by the police. THE complainant was filed in the court of the Judicial Magistrate No. 14, Jaipur City. THE learned Judicial Magistrate examined the complainant on oath and recorded the evidence of his witnesses under section 302, Cr. P. C. After the preliminary inquiry the learned Judicial Magistrate considered the materials on the record and found sufficient ground for proceeding against the applicants under sections 307, 148 read with section 149, IPC and issued warrants of arrest to enforce their attendance. THE applicants were arrested and brought before the learned Judicial Magistrate, who later on, on October 21, 1980 heard the learned counsel for the complainant and the applicants and came to the conclusion that no prima facie case under section 307 IPC was made out against any of the applicants and so he proceeded to try the applicants for the offences under sections 147 and 323, IPC only. THE applicants, accordingly were released on bail.

(3.) I have given my careful consideration to the rival contentions mentioned above. At the outset, I may observe that under section 209, Cr. P. C. the Magistrate is bound to commit the case to the court of Sessions provided it appears to him that the offence is triable exclusively by the court of Sessions. In other words, he has no option but to commit the case to the court of Sessions, according to section 209, Cr. P. C. when an offence exclusively triable by the court of Sessions Judge appears to have been committed. The pertinent question that requires determination, therefore, is what are the limits of his power which he exercises under section 209, Cr. P. C. Their Lordships of the Supreme Court in the referred to above authority were pleased to make the following observations on this point : " In our view the narrow inspection hole through which the committing Magistrate has to look at the case limits him merely to ascertain whether the case, as disclosed by the police report appears to the Magistrate to show an offence triable solely by the Court of Sessions. Assuming the facts to be correct as stated in the police report, if the offence is plainly one under Sec. 201, IPC the Magistrate has simply to commit for trial before the court of Sessions. If by error, a wrong section of the Penal Code is quoted, he may look into that aspect. Shri Mulla submits if the Magistrate's jurisdiction were to be severely truncated like this the prosecution may strike a label mentioning a sessions offence (if we may use that expression for brevity's sake) and the accused will be denied a valuable opportunity to prove his ex-facie innocence. There is no merit in this connection. If made-up facts unsupported by any material are reported by the police and a Sessions offence is made to appear, it is perfectly open to the Sessions Court under Sec. 227 Cr. P. C. to discharge the accused. This provision takes care of the alleged grievance of the accused. " Consequently in view of the observations made above by their lordships, I am of the opinion that the order passed by the Judicial Magistrate No. 14, Jaipur City, on October 21, 1980, was clearly erroneous, because he was not empowered under Sec. 209, Cr. P. C to weigh the probabilities of the evidence of the case in confirming the opinion whether the charges laid in the complaint disclosed an offence exclusively triable by the Court of Sessions. It was not open to him even to see whether the materials on the record did or did not support the charges because such a function has been assigned under section 227, Cr. P. C. to the Sessions Judge. The learned Judicial Magistrate No. 14, Jaipur City, has not given out reasons even for holding that no prima facie case under section 307, Cr. P. C. was made out against any petitioner. He took cognizance upon the complaint against the petitioners under sections 307, 148 read with section 149, I. P. C. and issued process against them after a preliminary enquiry. On October 21, 1980, when the petitioners were brought under arrest to his court, he changed his former view for reasons best known to him and passed an order that no case is made out under section 307, I. P. C. against any petitioner. The order passed by him reads as follows : *** The Additional Sessions Judge, therefore, was justified in reversing this order of the Judicial Magistrate in revision.