V. S. DESHPANDE, J.

( 1 ) THE question REFERRED TO to this Division Bench is whether the Competent authority holding an inquiry under sub-section (3) of section 19 of the Slum Areas (Improvement and Clearance Act, 1956 is a "court" within the meaning of section 195 (1) (b) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898. The question has an importance wider than the present case. For, the Competent authority acting under section 19 (3) of the Slum Area (Improvement and Clearance) Act is a quasi-judicial authority. With the march of the statute law and the welfare state in India a large number of administrative authorities have been functioning in a quasi-judicial manner. They are, therefore, subject to the supervisory jurisdiction of the High Court under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution and of the Supreme Court under Article 32 as also to the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Article 136. The word "court" is itself used either in a narrow sense of a civil, criminal or a revenue court as it has been used, for instance, in section 476 of the of Criminal Procedure or in a wider sense to include a judicial tribunal which, though not called a court, is still a court in t

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