The Magistrate's jurisdiction under Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, extends to committing an accused person shown in column No. 2 of the police report for trial, if the Magistrate is satisfied that there are prima facie grounds to do so.

S.S.SANDHAWALIA, J.

1. Whether upon the receipt of a report under Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the Magistrate has jurisdiction to differ with the conclusions of the police and direct that the accused hot sent up for trial and mentioned in column No. 2 thereof should also be summoned and committed to the court of Session under Section 209 of the Code is the meaningful question, which has necessitated this reference to the Division Bench.

2. The issue aforesaid arises from a quadruple murder case. According to the allegations laid in the first information report Surinder Kaur and her first cousin Satwinder Kaur - were sleeping together on a cot in their house in village Mansurpur. Nearby Smt. Dharam Kaur, mother of Surinder Kaur and Gurjinder Pal Singh, a child aged about three years were also lying on a separate cot. Smt. Parkash Kaur with her little baby child of about one month was. sleeping close-by on another cot. The men folk of the house were apparently absent and sleeping at their tubewell in the fields. At about midnight, there was a knock at the outer door of the house and Surat Singh petitioner, along with his co-accused Swaran Singh demanded that the door be opened and made enquiry whether Prem Singh father of Smt. Surinder Kaur was there. Dhairam Kaur replied from her cot that he was not in the house and had gone out. Surat Singh petitioner along with his companions then forcibly pushed open the door. Smt. Surinder Kaur, out of fear arose from her cot and proceeded towards the residential house of Khem Singh, her uncle, where she woke up Sampuran Singh and Roshan Singh. The prosecution case is that Surat Singh petitioner and his co-accused Swaran Singh were armed with guns. whilst Simarjit Singh, Amar Singh, Baldev Singh, Mukhtiar Singh and Gurmit Singh were armed with a pistol each. Simarjit Singh raised a lalkara that even though prem Singh was not present in his house, this should not matter and his entire family members should be wiped out. Mukhtiar Singh, Baldev Singh, Amar Singh and Gurmit Singh accused allegedly stood near the outer door. Surat Singh petitioner then fired a shot from his gun at Smt. Dharam Kaur who died at the spot. He fired a second time from his gun at Gurjinder Pal Singh alias Pawan, who also died instantaneously. Swaran Singh co-accused then fired at Smt. Parkash Kaur the brothers wife of Smt. Surinder Kaur fatally injuring her. Swaran Singh then fired another shot at Satwinder Kaur who also breathed her last at the spot. He again fired at Jangvir Singh twice at his chest as well as his hand. The commotion and the gun-shots attracted a large number of inhabitants of the village to the site of the crime, whereupon the assailants made good their escape along with their respective weapons.

3. Besides Surinder Kaur complainant, the incident was also witnessed by her cousins Roshan Singh and Sampuran Singh and her uncle Swaran Singh. Later Surinder Kaur along with her uncle Swaran Singh went to the police station Tanda and on the basis of her statement, a case was registered vide. F.I.R. No. 137 dated May 16, 1980. In the course of the investigation, all the accused persons including the present petitioner, were arrested.

4. On the completion of the police investigation the police report against the accused was presented in the Court of the Judicial Magistrate 1st Class, Dasuya on August 14, 1980. Therein Surat Singh petitioner was shown in column No. 2. Thereupon Surat Singh petitioner moved an application dated August 20, 1980 before the Magistrate claiming to be discharged primarily on the ground that he had been merely shown in column No. 2 of the final police report. By a considered order dated August 27, 1980, the learned Judicial Magistrate rejected this application after adverting to the authorities sought to be relied upon on behalf of the petitioner. By a separate commitment order of the same date, the learned Magistrate then committed Surat Singh peti