( 1 ) THESE appeals came before Basi Reddi, J. , for final disposal and a preliminary point was taken before the learned Judge that the prosecution of the appellants was barred by reason of the provisions of Section 53 of the Madras District Police Act of 1859 (hereinafter referred as the Act ). Although this point was not raised in the lower Court, as it was a question of law going to the root of the jurisdiction of the Court, the learned Judge permitted the counsel to argue. After bearing the arguments, the learned Judge was of the opinion that the view taken in a judgment of the Madras High Court in Nichodemus v. State, 1954 Mad WN (Cri) 185 : ( (S) AIR 1955 Mad 561), by Chandra Reddy, J. as a Judge of the Madras High Court and in Bapaniah v. State, 1954 Mad WN (Cri) 316, a subseyuent decision of the same learned Judge as a judge of the Andhra High Court were not in consonance with the view taken by the Madras High Court in an earlier decision in Lakshmiah Swami v. Mohd. Galah Hussain, AIR 1937 Mad 382. Inasmuch as the construction placed by Chandra Reddy, J. , in the two cases referred to was not the same as that placed by the Madras decision (the last mentioned