1. I have no doubt that a proceeding taken by a magistrate under provisions like S.107 to 110, 133,144, 145 and 488 of the Criminal Procedure Code is a judicial proceeding-see Babulal Parate v. State of Maharashtra AIR. 1961 Supreme Court 884 and State of Uttar Pradesh v. Kaushailiya AIR. 1964 Supreme Court 416; indeed, the contrary has not been urged before us. That being so, I should think that in the state of the Indian authorities (whatever to the contrary counsel for the respondent plaintiff might think he has succeeded in extracting from certain observations by Sellers and Devlin L. JJ. in Lincoln v. Daniels (1962) 1 QB. 237 - after all when, as in this case, the question is, what does public policy dictate under Indian conditions, Indian authorities must be of greater value) the per se defamatory statements made by the appellant defendant about the respondent plaintiff in a petition he submitted to the (Executive) First Class Magistrate, Ottapalam, with a view to initiating proceedings under S.107 of the Criminal Procedure Code True, he did not in terms pray that proceedings be taken under S.107 of the Code, but he did pray that immed ate action be taken to prese