The Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation does not have the authority to compound an offense committed under Rule 29(1)(d) of Chapter VIII of the Schedule to the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949, for importing a scooter without paying octroi duty.

Headnote:
MUNICIPAL CORPORATION - OCTROI DUTY - COMPOUNDING OF OFFENCE - POWER OF COMMISSIONER - BOMBAY PROVINCIAL MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS ACT, 1949, SECTIONS 481(1)(B), 393 - CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE, SECTIONS 1(2), 5(2), 345 - BOMBAY MUNICIPAL CORPORATION ACT, 1888, SECTION 517(1)(B) - The Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation does not have the authority to compound an offense committed under Rule 29(1)(d) of Chapter VIII of the Schedule to the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949, for importing a scooter without paying octroi duty.
Fact of the Case:

The 1st respondent brought a scooter within the limits of the Municipal Corporation without paying octroi duty. The Municipal Corporation filed a complaint against the 1st respondent, charging him with the offense of importing the scooter without the payment of duty. The Municipal Commissioner compounded the offense, and the 1st respondent filed a pursis before the Magistrate that the offense was compounded and, therefore, the complaint should be disposed of after recording the composition. The Magistrate held that the Commissioner has no power to compound the offense.
Finding of the Court:

The Commissioner has no power to compound the offense because by reason of the specific provision contained in the second part of the second schedule to the Criminal Procedure Code, such offenses cannot be compounded at all.
Issues: Whether the Commissioner has the power to compound the offense committed by the 1st respondent under Rule 29(1)(d) of Chapter VIII of the Schedule to the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949.
Ratio Decidendi: 1. Section 345 of the Criminal Procedure Code provides for the composition of certain offenses, but no offense against any law other than the Indian Penal Code can be compounded. 2. Section 481(1)(b) of the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949, empowers the Commissioner to compound any offense against the Act or any rule, regulation, or by-law which under the law for the time being in force may legally be compounded. 3. However, the power conferred by Section 481(1)(b) is qualified, and the Commissioner can only compound an offense if it is capable of being legally compounded under any law for the time being in force. 4. Since the offense committed by the 1st respondent is an offense against a law other than the Indian Penal Code, it cannot be legally compounded under the Criminal Procedure Code. 5. Therefore, the Commissioner has no power to compound the offense.
Final Decision: The rule in the petition is discharged, and the order passed by the Magistrate is confirmed.

JUDGMENT - Chandrachud, J.

1. This revision application raises a question of some interest and importance. Stated briefly the question is whether the Commissioner for the Municipal Corporation of Sholapur has power to compound an Offence committed by the 1st respondent under Rule 29 (1) (d) of Chapter VIII of the Schedule to the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949, (hereinafter called "the Act"). The 1st respondent brought a scooter within the limits of the Municipal Corporation on the 6th February 1967 without paying the octroi duty. On the 15th of March, 1967, the Municipal Corporation filed the present complaint against the 1st respondent, charging him of the offence of importing the scooter without the payment of duty. The Municipal Commissioner compounded the offence on the 29th of May 1967 presumably in the purported exercise of the power conferred upon him by the bye-laws of the Municipality. The 1st respondent then filed a pursis before the learned Magistrate that the offence was compounded and, therefore, the complaint should be disposed of after recording the composition. By his order dated 24th of July, 1967, the learned Magistrate has held that the Commissioner has no power to compound the offence and, therefore, the composition cannot be recorded. The correctness of this order is challenged in this revision application. The matter had come up for hearing before Wagle J. who has referred it to the Division Bench.

2. For a proper decision of the question whether the Commissioner has the power to compound the offence, it would be necessary to consider the relevant provisions o£ the Criminal Procedure Code and of the Act, Section 1, Sub-section (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code provides, to the extent it is material, that in the absence of any specific provision to the contrary, nothing in the Code shall affect any special or local law for the time being in force. Section 5, Sub-section (1) of the Code provides that all offences under Indian Penal Code shall be investigated, inquired into, tried and otherwise dealt with according to the provisions of the Code. Sub-section (2) of Section 5 provides that all offences under any other law shall be investigated, inquired into tried and otherwise dealt with according to the provisions o£ the Criminal Procedure Code, but subject to any enactment for the time being in force regulating the manner or place of investigating, inquiring into, trying or otherwise dealing with such offences. Section 345 of the Code which deals with composition of offences consists of seven Sub-sections. Sub-section (1) provides for the composition of certain offences under the Indian Penal Code by the persons mentioned in the table. Sub-section (2) provides for the composition of certain other offences under the Indian Penal Code with the permission of the Court, Sub-section (7) provides that no offence shall be compounded except as provided by Section 345. Subsections (3) to (6) are not relevant for our purpose.

3. Two schedules were originally appended to the Code of Criminal Procedure, but the first schedule was repealed by Act No. X of 1914. The second schedule contains a Tabular statement of Offences and one of the columns of the Table, viz., Column No. 6, prescribes whether the particular offence is compoundable or not. The schedule can be roughly divided into two parts, the first part dealing with the offences under the Indian Penal Code and the second part with offences against laws other than the Indian Penal Code. The second part which is headed "Offences against other laws" provides in effect that no offence against any law other than the Indian Penal Code can be compounded. The second part deals with offences of four different categories. The first category relates to offences punishable with death, imprisonment for life or with imprisonment for seven years or upwards. The second category deals with offences punishable with imprisonment for three years and upwards but les

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