TMI Blog1979 (5) TMI 156X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... April 2, 1976 for alleged offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act. They were produced before the Special Judge on the next day i.e. 3.4.1976. The respondents moved Special Judge for enlargement of bail. The petition was dismissed. The inspector of police (Vigilance) moved the Special Judge for committing the respondents to police custody for a period of 15 days. That application was also rejected. Inspite of the rejection of this application the police filed Cr.M.P. No. 617 of 1976 before the Special Judge for directing the respondents to be placed under the police custody for a period of 15 days. The respondents moved before the High Court Cr.M.P. No. 1587 of 1976 for a direction that the respondent should be kept in judicial custody pending investigation of the crime. The respondents also filed another Cr.M.P. No. 1605 of 1976 for quashing the application Cr.M.P. No. 617 of 1976 before the Special Judge by the Police for committing the respondents to police custody on the ground that the Special Judge is not a Magistrate as defined in the Criminal Procedure Code and as such not empowered to act under Section 167 of the Criminal Procedure Code and to place the accused in po ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... mmitted to him for trial. The jurisdiction to try the offence by a Sessions Judge is only after committal to him. Farther the Sessions judge does not follow the procedure for the trial of warrant cases by Magistrates. The Special Judge is deemed to be A Court of Sessions only for certain purposes as mentioned in Section 8(3) of the Act while the first part of Sub-section 3 provides that except as provided in Sub-sections (1) and (2) of Section 8 the provisions of the CrPC, 1898 shall so far as they are not inconsistent with this Act, apply to the proceedings before the Special Judge. The Sub-section further provides that for the purpose of the said provisions, the Court of the Special Judge shall be deemed to be a Court of session trying cases without a jury or without the aid of assessors and the person conducting a prosecution before a special judge shall be deemed to be a public prosecutor . The deemed provisions has to be confined for the purposes mentioned in the Sub-section. Section 8(2) enables the Special Judge to tender a pardon to a person with a view to obtaining evidence supposed to have been concerned for the commission of an offence and the pardon so tendered was for ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nt cases by a Magistrate. Under Section 8(3) except as regards the provisions in Sub-sections (1) and (2) the provisions of CrPC is made applicable in so far as they are not inconsistent with the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act. This taken alongwith the fact that the Criminal Law (Amendment) is an Amending Act so far as a Criminal Procedure Code and Indian Penal Code is concerned the provisions of Cr.P.C. should be considered to be in force unless there are certain provisions in the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act which is inconsistent with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code. 7. We will now examine the provisions of Section 167 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Section 167 of the Criminal Procedure Code requires that whenever any person is arrested and detained in custody and when it appears that the investigation cannot be completed within a period of 24 hours the police officer is required to forward the accused to the Magistrate. The Magistrate to whom the accused is forwarded if he is not the Magistrate having jurisdiction to try the case may authorise the detention of the accused in such custody as he thinks fit for a term not exceeding 15 days on the whole. If he has no ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nce as a Court of Session without committal. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act being an amending Act the provisions are intended to provide for a speedy trial of certain offences. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act is no intended to be a complete code relating to procedure. The provisions of the Cr.P.C. are not excluded unless they are inconsistent with the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act. Thus read there could be no difficulty in coming to the conclusion that the Cr.P.C. is applicable when there is no conflict with the provisions of Criminal Law (Amendment) Act. If a Special Judge who is empowered to take cognizance without committal is not empowered to exercise powers of remanding an accused person produced before him or release him on bail it will lead to an anomalous situation. A Magistrate other than a Magistrate having jurisdiction cannot keep him in custody for more than 15 days and after the expiring of the period if the Magistrate having jurisdiction to try the case does not include the Special Judge, it would mean that he would have no authority to extend the period of remand or to release him on bail. So also if the Special Judge is not held to be a Magistrate having jurisdict ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d without being moved thereto by such authority. The Sub-section, therefore, contemplates a Magistrate who can try the offence himself or inquire with a view to commitment. This part of the section is not applicable to a Special Judge as he cannot inquire with a view to his commitment. Therefore, the Magistrate referred to under Rule (3) cannot include a Special Judge. This Court observed that Section 549 is not one of the sections in chapter 21 of the CrPC and that it does not empower to Central Government to modify the warrant procedure and that Rule 3 would not be applicable and further it cannot be said that by reason of the procedure to be followed by a Special Judge he would be a Magistrate empowered to try such a person within the meaning of Rule 3. Relying on this decision the learned Judge held that the same ratio would govern the facts of the present case. The learned Judge was in error in applying the decision of this Court relating to Rule 3 which is framed under Section 549 to Section 167 of the Cr.P.C. The Magistrate contemplated under Rule 3 is a Magistrate who is empowered to inquire with a view to committal which cannot apply to a special judge. 10. In the resul ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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