TMI Blog1964 (3) TMI 137X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... or the purpose of felling and removing it without obtaining permission from the competent authority and that against respondent No. 2 was that he felled the tree and removed it. The complaint was transferred from one Magistrate to another till it came on the file of Mr. T. B. Upadhaya who was a Magistrate of the Second Class. After Mr. Upadhaya had recorded all the evidence and examined the two respondents the powers of Magistrate, First Class were conferred on him. Thereafter be pronounced judgment in the case and finding respondents guilty be sentenced them to pay a fine of Rs. 50/- each or to undergo simple imprisonment for one month. The respondents filed an appeal before the Additional Sessions Judge, Bahraich which was later converted ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... no jurisdiction in him to try the offence then the proceedings were rightly declared void under s. 530(p) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. According to the opinion of Mr. Justice Nigam which finds support from the order of reference made by Mulla, J., there is nothing to prevent the First Class Magistrate from trying an offence under s. 15(1) of the Act, because under Schedule III of the Code of Criminal Procedure the ordinary powers of a Magistrate, First Class include the ordinary powers of a Magistrate of the Second Class. According to the other view, the Forests Act confers jurisdiction on Magistrates of the Second and the Third Class and this excludes jurisdiction of any superior Magistrate. 3. Section 15 of the Forests Act reads ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Offences under Penal Code - Subject to the other provisions of this Code any offence under the Indian Penal Code may be tried - (a) by the High Court, or (b) by the Court of Session, or (c) by any other Court by which such offence is shown in the eighth column of the second schedule to be triable . 29. Offences under other laws (1) Subject to the other provisions of this Code, any offence under any other law shall, when any Court is mentioned in this behalf in such law, be tried by such court. (2) When no Court is mentioned, it may be tried by the High Court or subject as aforesaid by any Court constituted under this Code by which such offence is shown in the eighth column of Second Schedule to be triable . 5. The s ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rate. The appellant relies upon the words 'subject to the other provisions of the Code' and refers to the Third Schedule. But that Schedule deals with the ordinary powers of the Magistrates under the Criminal Procedure Code. The words of the second sub-section of s. 15 are not rendered ineffective by the prescription of the ordinary powers of the Magistrates. To call in aid Schedule III would render the provisions of s. 29 redundant and useless at least in those cases where the second part of the Second Schedule applies. What s. 15(2) does is to prescribe a particular court and in view of the words of s. 29(1) no other court can try offences under s. 15(1) even though the powers of those courts may be superior to those of Magistrate ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nd sub-section. There is good reason for holding this, because a conviction by a Magistrate of the Second or the Third Class, as the case may be, is open to an appeal whereas a conviction by a Magistrate of the First Class and a sentence of fine of Rs. 50/- or under or a fine of Rs. 200/- after a summary trial is not appealable. It is possible that it was intended that a right of appeal should be conferred and therefore the trial of these offences was restricted to Magistrates of the Second and the Third Class. This was pointed out by Mr. Justice Beg in Harbans Singh and others v. State AIR1953All179 and was also referred to by Mr. Justice Verma in the opinion in the present case. In our opinion, it is a circumstance which may be taken into ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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