Rajasthan High Court
Modi, J.
Sukh Lal - Appellant
Versus
The State - Respondents
Criminal Misc. Application No. 120 of 1954
Decided On : January 07, 1955
Where the revisional powers of a High Court are invoked, it will as a rule not exercise such jurisdiction unless the party concerned has applied to the Sessions Judge or the District Magistrate, as the case may be, in the first instance, and such court has had the opportunity to consider the case and record its opinion thereon. If the Sessions Judge comes to a conclusion in favour of the petitioner, the matter is very much simplified at the time it comes before this Court. Should he, however, come to a contrary conclusion, it would be still open to the aggrieved party to apply to this Court to consider the application and the opinion of the Sessions Judge would be before it. (Para 5)
2. The present petitioner, along with one other person with whom we are not concerned for the purposes of the present revision, has been committed by the Extra Magistrate, Banswara, to stand his trial under sec. 302 read with sec. 109 I.P.C. in the court of the Additional Sessions Judge, Banswara. This application has been filed on his behalf for quashing the order of commitment, mainly, on the ground that there is no evidence, worth the name, on the basis of which the Magistrate could have committed the accused.
3. A preliminary objection was raised by the learned Deputy Government Advocate that the petitioner should have submitted his application in the first instance before the learned Sessions Judge concerned, and then come up to this Court, and that as this has not been done, this Court should refuse to go into the merits of this application. On the other hand, it was strenuously contended on behalf of the petitioner that under sec. 215 Cr.P.C., a commitment once made under sec. 213 by a competent Magistrate could be quashed by the High Court only and only on a point of law, and, therefore, the only proper course for him was to bring the matter up to this Court in the very first instance and the preliminary objection was without any substance and should be over-ruled.
4. Both parties made reference to certain cases in support of their respective points of view, but I consider it altogether unnecessary to cite them, inasmuch as the pointed pressed before me was never taken up in any of those cases. I am, therefore, of opinion that the authorities brought to my notice can be of no assistance in deciding the point raised before me, nor do I find otherwise any direct authority dealing with this point.
5. Now, I may state at once that this Court undoubtedly has the jurisdiction and authority to hear such an application direct and the objection raised on behalf of the State is not intended to question this power. The question nevertheless arise whether, as a matter of salutary practice, this Court should insist on such an application being field before the Sessions Court before the High Court is approached as regard it. This bring me to a consideration of the question as to what is the nature of the jurisdiction which this Court exercises, or is called upon to exercise in a matter of this kind. The jurisdiction of a High Court may be original, appellate or revisional. The petitioner is obviously not asking this Court to exercise the original or appellate jurisdiction in the present case. Such jurisdiction, as has been invoked, can therefore, be only revisional. For the exercise of such jurisdiction, reference may be made to secs. 435, 438 and 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Sec. 435 enables the High Court or any Session Judge or District Magistrate to call for and examine the record of any proceeding before any inferior criminal court for the purpose of satisfying itself or himself as to the correctness, legality or propriety of any finding, sentence or order. Sec. 438 then provides that the Sessions Judge or the District Magistrate may, on examining the record of any proceeding under sec. 435 or otherwise, report for the orders of the High Court the result of such examination. Then follows sec. 439 which deals with the High Courts powers of revision. Now, the rule seems to me to be firmly established in this Court, as also elsewhere, that where the revisional powers of a High Court are invoked, it will as a rule not exercise such jurisdiction unless the party concerned has applied to the Sessions Judge or the District Magistrate, as the case may be, in the first instance, and such court has had the opportunity to consider the case and record its opinion thereon. There is a good deal in favour of such a practice because it enables the Court to have before it the opinion
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