PREM CHAND JAIN, J.

1. The petitioners have challenged through this petition the constitutional validity and the legality of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Punjab Amendment) Act, 1983 (hereinafter called the Amendment Act). This Act received the assent of the President of India on 3rd November,1983, and was published in the Gazette of Government of Punjab on 24th November, 1983, Earlier to the enactment of the Amendment Act, the State of Punjab had promulgated Ordinance No.3 of 1983 on 27th June, 1983. The provisions of the Amendment Act have come into force with effect from the date the Ordinance was promulgated.

2. In this petition, the main attack is on Sections 4 and 11 of the Amendment Act, which read as under:-

"4. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code - (a) an Executive Magistrate shall, to the exclusion of any other Magistrate, have power to take cognizance of and to try and dispose of cases relating to specified offences:

(b) the Executive Magistrate shall, to the exclusion of any other Magistrate exercise powers of remand under S. 167 of the Code in relation to the specified offences and for that purpose the said S. 167 shall be so read as if the words E