PADMANABHAN, J.

These cases have been referred to a Full Bench to decide the question whether it is mandatory that a Magistrate, before issuing process to the accused on a complaint disclosing an offence which is exclusively triable by a Court of session shall call upon the complainant to produce all his witnesses and examine them on oath. A Division Bench of this Court in Sulaiman v. Eachara Warrier, 1978 Ker LT 424 took the view that it is not mandatory since the duty to conduct an enquiry under S. 202(1), Criminal P.C. (for short 'the Code') itself is only discretionary. The correctness of that view is doubted and hence the question as well as the cases have been referred to the Full Bench.

2. Crl. M.C. 974 of 1984 arose out of a complaint filed by the respondent before the Judicial Second Class Magistrate, Parappanangadi against the three petitioners. The complaint is in protest against a police report in a murder case in which only two of the petitioners were made accused. Cr. M.C. 17 of 1985 is against a private complaint filed by the respondent before the Judicial First Class Magistrate, Payyannur, against the petitioner which was taken to file as C.P. 22 of 1984