Magistrate committing accused to Sessions Court to take his trial for a charge of murder is illegal.

The challenge in this revision petition is to an order for committal made by the Magistrate of Juvenile Court at Dharwar, directing the petitioner before us to take his trial before the Court of Session. The charge against the petitioner is that he committed an offence of murder on 24th April, 1964. There was a similar charge against some others, but since the petitioner was a child as defined by section 4(1)(f)of the Mysore Children Act, 1964, which came into force on 19th March, 1964, the prosecution against the petitioner was proceeded with in the Juvenile Court established under the Childrens Act, 1964, while the proceedings against the others continued before the Court constituted under Che Code of Criminal Procedure. Since the same Magistrate presided over both the Courts, what happened in reality was, that there was a bifurcation of the proceedings. Those concerning the petitioner were disposed of by him as the Magistrate presiding over the Juvenile Court, and, in respect of the others, the order of committal was made in his capacity as the Magistrate presiding over the ordinary Court.

Mr. P.L. Patil for the petitioner calls in question the order of committal made in respect of the petitioner, depending upon section 8 of the Mysore Children Act, 1964 which would be referred to as ‘the Children Act’ which, according to him, clothes the Magistrate presiding over the Juvenile Court with exclusive jurisdiction to try the petitioner of the offence with which he was charged, excluding the jurisdiction of the Court of Session where he is now directed to stand his trial.

It is undisputed that since the offence with which the petitioner is charged was committed after the Children Act came into force, the prosecution commenced against the petitioner is governed and regulated by the provisions of that Act. The argument placed before us was that section 8 of the Children Act made it impermissible for the Magistrate to make an order of committal in the case of the petitioner, since, what he was enjoined by that section was to try the petitioner and dispose of the matter under section 60.

The short question is whether there is anything in the Children Act which prohibits the order for committal under Chapter XVIII of the Code of Criminal Procedure in a case in which the accused is a child within the meaning of the Act.

A ‘child’ is defined by the Children Act by section 4(1)(f) of the Act which provides that a ‘child’ means a boy, who has not attained the age of sixteen years, or a girl, who has not attained the age of eighteen years. There is no controversy before us that the petitioner is a child falling within this definition. It is not disputed that for the Dharwar Taluk which is the area in which the offence is said to have been committed, a Juvenile Court was constituted under section 7 of the Children Act which empowers the State Government, by notification, to constitute it. The powers of Juvenile Courts so constituted are enumerate d in section 8 of the Act which reads:

“8. Powers of Juvenile Courts and other Courts.-(1)Where a Juvenile Court has been constituted for any area, such Court shall, notwithstanding anything contained in any other lawfor the time being in force but save as otherwise provided in this Act, have power exclusively to try all cases in which a child is charged with the commission of an offence and shall deal with and dispose of all other proceedings under this Act; but shall not have power to try any case in which an adult is charged with an offence under Chapter VI of this Act.

(2) Where no Juvenile Court has been constituted for any area, the powers conferred onthe Juvenile Court by or under this Act shall be exercised in that area, only by the following, namely:

(a) the Court of the District Magistrate; or

(b) the Court of any salaried Magistrate of the First Class.

(3) The powers conferred on the Juvenile Court by or under this Act, may also be exercised by the High Court and the Court of S