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1988 (9) TMI 48 - SC - Indian LawsWhether a Commission of Inquiry constituted under section 3 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952 is "court" for purposes of section 195(1)(b) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973? Held that:- The least that is required of a court is the capacity to deliver a "definitive judgment", and merely because the procedure adopted by it is of a legal character and it has power to administer an oath, will not impart to it the status of a court. That being so, it must be held that a Commission of Inquiry appointed by the appropriate Government under section 3(1) of the Commissions of Inquiry Act is not a court for the purposes of section 195 of the Code. In conclusion, we wish to clarify that this judgment of ours will not prevent the State Government from launching a prosecution against the appellant for commission of the alleged offences under sections 193 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, if otherwise permissible in law. In the result, the appeal succeeds and is allowed. The judgment and order passed by the High Court are set aside and the proceedings pending in the court of the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate at Esplanade, Bombay, in Criminal Case against the appellant for having committed alleged offences punishable under sections 193 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, on a complaint filed by the Secretary to the Commission, are quashed.
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