A. Hariprasad, J.

Following legal conundrums crop up for adjudication in this appeal :

"Whether an appeal could be maintained under Section 5(i) of the Kerala High Court Act, 1958 (in short, the Act) against an order passed by a Single Judge under Section 407 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (in short, Cr.P.C.) either allowing or refusing to transfer a case or appeal from one criminal court to another criminal court in the same Sessions division? Parenthetically, does the High Court exercise original jurisdiction while dealing with a case under Section 407 Cr.P.C. also arises for consideration."

2. This matter comes up before us on a reference by a Division Bench. The Division Bench was of the view that some observations in Balan v. Sivagiri Sree Narayana Dharma Sanghom Trust 2005 (4) KLT 865] rendered by a Full Bench run contrary to the law laid down by a Division Bench in S. Narayanaswami v. Padma [1972 KLT 7] touching on the issue.

3. Short facts relevant for disposal of the case can be summarized thus: Appellant is the 4th accused in a Sessions case. The appellant, along with other accused, stood charge-sheeted for grave offences, including murder. Victim's mother