TMI Blog1977 (7) TMI 115X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... mber of accused persons in including the appellants as having participated in the occurrence which resulted in the death of the deceased.The police, after holding investigations, submitted a charge-sheet against the other accused persons except the appellants against whom the police opined that no case at all was made out as no, weapon was recovered nor was there any clear evidence about the participation of the appellants. The police thus submitted its final report under s. 173 of the 1973 Code insofar as the appellants were concerned. The report was placed before Mr. B. K. Gupta the Judicial Magistrate, 1st.Class, Karnal, who after perusing the same set the appellants at liberty after having accepted the report. It appears that the complainant filed a revision petition before the Additional Sessions Judge, Karnal against the order of the Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class, Karnal releasing the appellants, but the same was dismissed on July 3, 1976. The informant filed a regular complaint before the Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class, on July 1, 1976 against all the 11 accused including the appellants. The, teamed Magistrate, after having examined the complainant and going through the rec ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... dge that the order of the Judicial Magistrate in the instant case was' an interlocutory order is concerned, it is a matter which merits serious consideration. A history of the criminal legislation in India would manifestly reveal that so far as the Code of Criminal Procedure is concerned both in the 1898 Code and 1955 Amendment the widest possible powers of, revision had been given to the High Court under ss. 435 and 439 of those, Codes. The High Court could examine the propriety of any order-whether final or interlocutory-passed by any Subordinate Court in a criminal matter. No limitation and restriction on the powers of. the High Court were placed. But this Court as also the various High Courts in India, by a long course of decisions, confined the exercise of revisional powers only to cases where the impugned order suffered from any error of law or any legal infirmity causing injustice or prejudice to the accused or was manifestly foolish or perverse. These. restrictions were placed by the case law, merely as a rule of prudence rather than a rule of law and in suitable cases the High Courts had the undoubted power to interfere with the impugned order even on facts. Sections 4 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ment, keeping in view, the following basic' considerations (i) an accused person should get a fair trial in accordance with the accepted principles of natural justice; (ii) every effort should be made to avoid delay in investigation and trial which is harmful not only to the individuals involved but also to society; and (iii) 'the procedure should not be complicated and should, to the utmost extent possible, ensure fair deal to the poorer sections of the community. This is clearly mentioned, in the Statement of Objects and Reasons accompanying the 1973 Code. Clause (d) of Paragraph 5 of the Statement of Objects and Reasons-runs thus : the, powers of revision against interlocutory orders are being takken away, as it has been found to be one of the main contributing factors in the delay of disposal of criminal cases Similarly, replying to the debate in the Lok Sabha on sub-clause (2) of Clause 397, Shri Ram Niwas Mirdha, the Minister concerned, observed as follows : It was stated before the Select Committee that a large number of appeals against interlocutory orders are filed with the result that the appeals got delayed considerably. Some of the more noto ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... orders summoning witnesses, adjourning cases, passing orders for bail, calling for reports and such other steps in aid of the pending proceeding, may no doubt amount to interlocutory orders against which no revision would lie under s. 397 (2) of the 1973 Code. But orders which are matters of moment and which affect or adjudicate the rights of the accused or a particular aspect of the trial cannot be said to be interlocutory order so as to be. outside the purview of the revisional jurisdiction of the High Court. In Central Bank of India v. Gokal Chand (A.I.R. 1967 S.C. 799, 800) this Court while describing the incidents of an interlocutory order, observed as follows In the context of s. 38(1), the words every order of the Controller made under this Act , though very wide, do not include interlocutory orders, which are. merely procedural and do not affect the rights or liabilities of the parties. In a pending proceeding the Controller, may pass many interlocutory orders under ss. 36 and 37, such as orders regarding the summoning of witnesses, discovery, production and inspection of documents, issue of a commission for examination of witnesses, inspection of premises, fixing a date ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ar Parshad Wali and Anr. v. Naranjan Nath Matoo and others(2). Applying the aforesaid tests, let us now see whether the order impugned in the instant case can be said to be an interlocutory order as held by the High Court. In the first place, so far as the appellants are concerned, the police had submitted its final report against them and they were released by the Judicial Magistrate. A revision against that order to the Additional Sessions Judge preferred by the complainant had failed. Thus the appellants, by virtue of the order of the Judicial Magistrate as' affirmed by the Additional Sessions Judge ,acquired a valuable right of not being put on trial unless a proper order was made against them. Then came the complaint by respondent No. 2 before the Judicial Magistrate which was also dismissed ,on merits. The Sessions Judge in revision, however, set aside the order dismissing the complaint and ordered further inquiry. The Magistrate on receiving the order of the Sessions Judge summoned the appellants straightaway which meant that the appellants were to, be put on trial. So long as the Judicial Magistrate had not passed this order, no proceedings were started against the a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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