JUDGMENT: The appellants in this appeal stand convicted in S.C.No. 231 of 1992 on the file of the learned Sessions Judge, Madurai for the offence punishable under Sec. 3(1)(x) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and sentenced to undergo one year rigorous imprisonment together with a fine of Rs.500 carrying a default sentence. Heard Mr.M. Ravindran, learned senior counsel appearing for the appellants and Mr.V. Jayaprakash Narayanan, learned Government Advocate appearing on the criminal side for the State.

2. The investigating agency had filed the final report directly before the Court of Sessions, thereby treating the Court of Sessions as the original Court empowered to take cognizance of the offence. But recently the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India held that the Court constituted under the Act cannot take cognizance of offences under the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act directly without the case being committed to it. The case on hand had it’s origin in the year 1992 and no objection whatsoever had been taken before the learned trial Judge about the absence of power in it to take a cognizance of the offence directly. In a later ju

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