Lord Oaksey.-

Special leave to appeal was granted in this case without their Lordships being acquainted with the necessary documents, which were no doubt not available. Leave was granted limited to the question of whether or not the proceedings were valid having regard to the fact that the appeal was signed and filed in the High Court by the Advocate- General and not by the Public Prosecutor.

[2] The relevant documents have now been produced before their Lordships, and the facts are as follows :

[3] By the Government of India Act, 1935, it was provided by S. 55, that every Province was to have an Advocate-General. On 1st April 1937, the Government of India Act, came into force. On 3rd April 1937, a notification in the Gazette provided that in exercise of the powers conferred on him by S. 492, Criminal P. C. 1898, the Governor of the Punjab is pleased to appoint the Advocate-General of the Punjab to be a Public Prosecutor generally for the Punjab. On 5th April 1937, two days later, Mr. Ram Lall was appointed Advocate-General. On 9th February 1938, he was appointed a Judge. On 11th February 1938, Mr. Sleem, the officer who filed the appeal to the High Court in these proceedings, was app