A Bench of the Gram Cutcherry has jurisdiction to try an offence under Section 506, Penal Code, subject to the Bench exercising the powers of a Magistrate of the third class. In a case arising out of a compoundable offence, a Bench of the Gram Cutcherry must endeavour to bring about an amicable settlement between the parties before proceeding with the trial.

Imam, J.

1. This is an application under Arts. 226 and 227 of the Constitution in the matter of a writ in the nature of certiorari. The petitioner was convicted by the Gram Cutcherry of Samayagarh for offence punishable under Sec. 504 and Section 506, Penal Code, and sentenced to pay a fine under each section. An appeal to the Full Bench of the Gram Cutcherry was dismissed. The Sub-divisional Magistrate, however, was moved presumabty under Section 73, Bihar Panchayat Raj Act 1947 (Act 7 of 1948). The Sub-divisioral Magistrate was of the opinion that there was no case made out under Sec. 504, and he set aside the conviction. He, however, upheld the conviction under Sec. 506, Penal Code.

2. The case of the complainant before the Gram Cutcherry was that the petitioner had sent his son Kedar Singh to the complainant with a slip bearing his signature asking him to send 10 seers of Khajoor. The complainant refused to supply as it was against the rules of the ration shop to give more than two seers of Khajoor to anybody. On this, the petitioners son Kedar Singh went back and informed the petitioner accordingly. The petitioner came and began to abuse the complainant. The petitioner ran after the complainant with brickbats but he was seized by other person standing there. Thereafter, the petitioner said that he would have killed the complainant but for the fact that his son was ill.

3. The petitioners case was that a false case had been instituted by the complainant. The complainant owed to the petitioner Rs. 600/-which he refused to repay on demand made by the petitioner, and in order to put pressure upon the petitioner the complainant began to abuse the petitioner as a result of which there was exchange of hot words in the course of which the complainant threatened to assault the petitioner with garasa. A totally false case had been brought against the petitioner in order to put pressure upon him.

4. I am not placing in the order of importance the points raised by the learned advocate for the petitioner. The first point that I will deal with is as to whether Sec. 506 was triable by a beach of the Gram Cutcherry under the Bihar Panchayat Raj Act. Sec. 62 of the Act specifically provides that notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1893, and subject to the provisions of the Act, a Bench of the Gram Cutcherry shall have jurisdiction concurrent with that of the Criminal Court within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the Bench is situate for the trial of the offences mentioned in Clauses (a), (b), (c), (d) & (e). In Clause (a) which concerns the Indian Penal Code, Sec. 506 is clearly stated.

It was, however, argued that under Sec. 63 of the Act, a Bench of the Gram Cutcherry is only vested with the powers of a Magistrate of the third class. According to the Criminal Procedure Code, schedule 2 prepared under Sec.28 of the Code, an offence under Sec. 506, Penal Code, is not triable by a third Class Magistrate. A Magistrate with second class powers is the lowest grade of Magistrate who can try such an offence. The submission of the learned Advocate is, in my opinion, erroneous because Sec. 62 of the Act gives jurisdiction to a Bench of the Gram Cutcherry to try cases punishable under Sec. 506. Reliance, however, was placed on the words to the effect "and subject to the provisions of this Act" for the purpose of showing that as a Bench of the Gram Cutcherry was vested only with the powers of a Magistrate of the third class, such a Bench had no jurisdiction to try an offence under Sec. 506, Penal Code. I do not agree with this submission. The words on which reliance has been placed mean no more than this when read in the context of the words stated in Section 62, namely, that a Bench of the Gram Cutcherry shall have jurisdiction to try an offence under Sec. 506 subject to this that the Bench will be exercising the powers which are exercised by a Magistrate of the third class that is to say, on convict