K.A. Mohamed Shafi, J.

'This M.C. is filed by the accused in Crime No. 392/2000 registered by the Manjeri Police alleging offences punishable under S.324 r/w 34 of I.P.C. and S.3(1)(x) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act to direct the Judicial First Class Magistrate-I, Manjeri to enlarge the petitioners on bail in the event of their surrender before the court and moving for bail.

2. The above crime is registered against the petitioners on the basis of the F.I. Statement given by one Chandran alleging that on 18.7.2000 the petitioners who do not belong to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe in furtherance of their common intention assaulted him and intentionally insulted with intent to humiliate him who is a member of the Scheduled Caste community within public view.

3. The petitioners have contended that in fact the defacto complainant in this case had attacked the 1st petitioner and crime No. 393/2000 is registered by the Manjeri Police against him on the basis of the F.I. Statement given by the 1st petitioner while undergoing treatment in the hospital alleging offences punishable under Ss.341,323 and 324 of I.P.C. The petitioners have also contended that in view of the incorporation of the offence punishable under S.3(1)(x) of the S.C. & S.T. (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, they are prevented from applying for anticipatory bail due to the bar under S.18 of the Act making S.438 of the Cr.P.C. not applicable to the persons committing offences punishable under any of the provisions of the S.C. & S.T. (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. They have further contended that since the cases in which offence punishable under the provisions of S.C. & S.T. (Prevention of Atrocities) Act is incorporated, are triable by the Special Court, which is the Sessions Court, the J.F.C.M.' s Courts are not granting bail to the persons accused of the offence punishable under the provisions of the S.C. & S.T. (Prevention of Atrocities) Act either when they are arrested and produced or surrendered before the court. Therefore, they have submitted that a direction should be issued by this Court to the learned Magistrate to grant bail to the petitioners since the J.F.C.M. has got jurisdiction to grant bail in cases wherein offences are not punishable with death or imprisonment for life.

4. S.437 of the Cr.P.C. reads as follows: "437. When bail may be taken in case of non-bailable offence -

(1) When any person accused of, or suspected of, the commission of any non-bailable offence is arrested or detained without warrant by an officer-in-charge of a police station or appears or is brought before a court other than the High Court or Court of Session, he may be released on bail but -

(i) such person shall not be so released if there appear reasonable grounds for believing that he has been guilty of an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life;

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Therefore, it is clear from the above provision of the Cr.P.C. that the Magistrate is competent to release an accused, either appeared or brought before him, if the offence alleged is not punishable with death or imprisonment for life.

5. Though the offences punishable under the provisions of the S.C. & S.T. (Prevention of Atrocities) Act are made triable by the Special Court presided over by a Sessions Judge, considering the peculiar nature and circumstances under which those cases are registered and tried with regard to atrocities perpetrated against the downtrodden and weaker sections of the society, the offences punishable under the 15 subsections under sub-s.(1) of S.3 of the Act are punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to five years and with fine. The offences punishable under sub-s.(2) of S.3 of the Act relate to graver offences. In this case as already noted the offence alleged against the petitioners is only punishable under S.3(1)(x) of the S.C. & S.T. (Prevention of