Complaints must be disposed of according to the law, and the Magistrate should hold an enquiry as necessary.

Wallace, J.

1. The present petitioner, on the referred charge sheet, put in a complaint of his own on 8th February 1928. I can find no order by the Magistrate disposing of that complaint. I gather, since the Magistrate has apparently taken no further action on that complaint, that he regarded it as disposed of by the order on the referred charge sheet. This is not a method of disposing of a complaint known to the Criminal Procedure Code. Unless, therefore, there is some other order, unknown to me, disposing of the complaint in a legal manner, that complaint must be regarded as and is still pending and the Magistrate must take it up for disposal after taking sworn statement and holding such enquiry as ho considers necessary. I am asked to hold that there is no case on the merits worth enquiry. That is a master for the trial Court to consider, and decide whether the complaint ought to be thrown out without notice to the accused or whether notice ought to issue to them. The Sessions Judges remark in the heading of the order of the Sessions Judge that accused were discharged appears to be wrong, as no notice ever went to them.

2. I direct the Magistrate to take up the complaint, if it has not been disposed of by a legal order other than the order on the referred charge sheet case, hold such enquiry as he thinks fit, and dispose of it according to law.