Judgement

Bhagwati J.- This is an appeal under Art. 134 (c) of the Constitution and raises the point whether a single Judge of the High Court of Judicature at Calcutta could hear a reference from an order under Ss. 431 & 432, Bengal Municipal Act, 15 of 1932.

2. The jurisdiction of a single Judge of the High Court in criminal matters is defined in the proviso to R. 9, Ch. 2, part 1 of the Rules of the High Court and the relevant portion of the proviso runs as under :

"Provided that a single Judge may hear any appeal, reference, or application for revision other than the following:

(1) One relating to an order of sentence of death, transportation, penal servitude, forfeiture of property or of imprisonment, not being an order of imprisonment in default of payment of fine .........."

3. A single Judge, therefore, has no jurisdiction to deal with any reference or application for revision which relates to an order of forfeiture of property, and the question that arises in this appeal is whether the order passed by the learned District Magistrate, Bankura, under Ss. 431 and 432, Bengal Municipal Act 1932 amounted to an order of forfeiture of property within the meaning of the above proviso.

4.