IMPORTANT POINT
Special Court under SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act is essentially a Court of Session and it can take cognizance of offence when case is committed to it by Magistrate.

JUDGMENT

Arijit Pasayat, J.-These appeals involve identical issues and are taken up for disposal together.

2. Appellants faced trial for alleged commission of offences punishable under Sections 3(1)(iii), 3(1)(v) and 3(1)(x) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (in short the Act ). The Trial Court found the appellants guilty and imposed sentences. Appeal before the High Court did not bring any relief to them.

3. The primary stand taken in this appeal is that the Trial Court could not have suo moto entertained and registered the complaint as a sessions case.

4. Learned counsel for the respondent-State supported the judgment of the courts below stating that this plea is taken for the first time in this Court and was not taken before the Courts below.

5. Pristine question to be considered is whether the Special Judge could take cognizance of the offence straight away without the case being committed to him. If the Special court is a Court of Session, the interdict contained in Section 193 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short the Code ) would stand in the way. It reads thus:

"193. Cognizance of offences by Courts of Session-Except as otherwise expressly provided by this Code or by any other law for the time being in force, no Court of Session shall take cognizance of any offence as a court of original jurisdiction unless the case has been committed to it by a Magistrate under this Code."

6. So the first aspect to be considered is whether the Special Court is a Court of Session. Chapter II of the Code deals with "Constitution of Criminal Courts and Offices". Section which falls thereunder says that :

"there shall be, in every State, the following classes of criminal courts, namely:

(i) Courts of Sessions;"

7. The other classes of criminal courts enumerated thereunder are not relevant in this case and need not be extracted.

Section 14 of the Act Says that:

"for the purpose of providing for speedy trial, the State Government shall, with the concurrence of the Chief Justice of the High Court, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify for each district a Court of Session to be a Special Court to try the offences under this Act."

8. So it is for trial of the offences under the Act that a particular Court of Session in each district is sought to be specified as a Special Court. Though the word trial is not defined either in the Code or in the Act it is clearly distinguishable from inquiry. The word inquiry is defined in Section 2(g) of the Code as every inquiry, other than a trial, conducted under this Code by a Magistrate or court . So the trial is distinct from inquiry and inquiry must always be a forerunner to the trial. The Act contemplates only the trial to be conducted by the Special Court. The added reason for specifying a Court of Session as a Special Court is to ensure speed for such trial. "Special Court" is defined in the Act as "a Court of Session specified as a Special Court in Section 14" (vide Section 2(1)(d).

9. Thus the Court of Session is specified to conduct a trial and no other court can conduct the trial of offences under the Act. Why did Parliament provide that only a Court of Session can be specified as a Special Court? Evidently the legislature wanted the Special Court to be a Court of Session. Hence the particular Court of Session, even after being specified as a Special Court, would continue to be essentially a Court of Session and designation of it as a Special Court would not denude it of its character or even powers as a Court of Session. The trial in such a Court can be conducted only in the manner provided in Chapter XVIII of the Code which contains a fascicules of provisions for "trial before a Court of Session".

10. Section 193 of the Code has to be understood in the aforesaid backdrop. The Section imposes an interdict on all Courts of Session against taking cognizance of any offence as a Court of original jurisdiction. It can ta