JUDGMENT :- Special leave granted.

2. We heard Mr. A. T. M. Sampath, learned counsel for the appellant and Mr. A. V. Rangam, learned standing counsel for the State of Tamil Nadu. A question of very limited importance has been raised by Mr. Sampath in this appeal. He contends that the petitioner should have been given the benefit of Section 6 of the Probation of Offenders Act, 1958 (Act for short).

3. Section 6 of the Act provides that when any person under twenty one years of age is found guilty of having committed an offence punishable with imprisonment (but not imprisonment for life) the Court by which the person is found guilty shall not sentence him to imprisonment unless it is satisfied that, having regard to the circumstances of the case including the nature of the offence and character of the offender, it would not be desirable to deal with him under Section 3 or 4, and if the Court passes any sentence of imprisonment on the offender, it shall record its reasons for doing so. Sub-section (2) of Section 6 provides that when the Court wants to deal with the case under Section 3 or Section 4 of the Act, the Court shall call for a report from the Probation Officer and consider the