SHEO BARAN SINGH Vs. EMPEROR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These are three revision applications by certain persons who have been convicted by Special Magistrates appointed under Ordinance 2 of 1942 and are directed against their convictions and sentences. Criminal Revision No. 636 is filed by one Sheo Baran Singh who has been convicted of an offence under Section 412, Indian Penal Code, and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 15 months and to pay a fine of Rs. 50. Criminal Revision No. 637 has been filed by Ram Narain Sah and Tulshi Sah who have been convicted under Secs.(1) 147, (2) 448 read with Section 34, (3) 435 read with Section 34, Indian Penal Code, and (4) Rule 35, Clause (a), Defence of India Act, read with Clause (4) and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two years. The petitioner in criminal Revision No. 639 is one Ramdahin Ram who has been convicted under Section 412, Penal Code, and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 15 months and to pay a fine of Rs. 75. Section 72 of Schedule 9, Government of India Act, provides as follows: The Governor-General may, in oases of emergencymake and promulgate ordinances for the peace and good government of British India or any part thereof, and any ordinance so made shall, for the space of more than six months from its promulgation, have the like force of law as an Act passed by the Indian Legislature; but the power of making ordinances under this Section is subject to the like restrictions as the power of the Indian Legislature to make laws; and any ordinance made under this section is subject to the like disallowance as an Act passed by the Indian Legislature, and may be controlled or superseded by any such Act.

(2.) Acting under this provision the Governor-General made and promulgated Ordinance 2 of 1942 otherwise known as the Special Criminal Courts Ordinance, 1942, on 2 January, 1942. It is recited in the preamble of this (Ordinance that an emergency having arisen it was necessary to provide for the setting up of Special Criminal Courts and Section 1 of the Ordinance states among other things that it extends to the whole of British India and that it shall come into force in any province only if the Provincial Government, being satisfied of the existence of an emergency arising from a hostile attack on India or on a country neighbouring on India or from the imminence of such an attack, by notification in the official Gazette, declared it to be in force in the province and shall cease to be in force when such notification is rescinded.

(3.) Section 3 of the Ordinance provides that Courts of criminal jurisdiction may be constituted under the Ordinance of the following classes, namely, d) Special Judges; (2) Special Magistrates and (3) Special Courts.