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PUNJAB & HARYANA HIGH COURT
Jindra Lal and A.D.Koshal JJ.
Municipal Committee, Amritsar, Through Its Executive Officer
Versus
Labhu Ram
Criminal Appeal No. 1028 of 1966,
Decided On : MAY 6, 1969
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE - SUMMONS CASES - DISCHARGE - COMPLAINT CASES - DOCUMENTS RELIED UPON BY PROSECUTION - SUPPLY OF COPIES TO ACCUSED - SECTION 173 OF THE CODE - INAPPLICABILITY TO COMPLAINT CASES - INHERENT POWERS OF COURT - NO POWER TO DIRECT SUPPLY OF COPIES - DISCHARGE OF ACCUSED ON GROUND OF FAILURE TO SUPPLY COPIES - ERRONEOUS.
Fact of the Case:
Fourteen complaints were filed by the Municipal Committee, Amritsar, against various accused for offences under Section 78 of the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911, and R. V.65 of the Punjab Municipal Account Code. The complaints alleged that the accused had imported sugar into the Amritsar municipal limits without payment of octroi duty and with the intention of defrauding the Committee. The trial court discharged the accused on the ground that the Committee had failed to supply copies of the documents relied upon by the prosecution to the accused, despite a direction by the court to do so.
Finding of the Court:
The High Court held that the trial court erred in discharging the accused. The court held that Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which provides for the supply of copies of documents to accused persons in cases investigated by police officers, is not applicable to cases instituted upon complaints. The court also held that the trial court had no inherent power to direct the Committee to furnish copies of the documents relied upon by it to the accused.
Issues: 1. Whether Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is applicable to cases instituted upon complaints? 2. Whether the trial court had inherent power to direct the Committee to furnish copies of the documents relied upon by it to the accused?
Ratio Decidendi: 1. Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is not applicable to cases instituted upon complaints. This is because the definition of "complaint" in Section 4(1)(h) of the Code does not include the report of a police officer. Section 173(4) of the Code specifically provides for the supply of copies of documents to accused persons in cases investigated by police officers. Therefore, there is no provision in the Code for the supply of copies of documents to accused persons in cases instituted upon complaints. 2. The trial court had no inherent power to direct the Committee to furnish copies of the documents relied upon by it to the accused. This is because the Code of Criminal Procedure does not contain any express provision conferring such power on the court. Further, the introduction of Sections 173(4) and 251-A(1) of the Code in 1956, which provide for the supply of copies of documents to accused persons in cases instituted upon police reports, indicates that the Legislature intended to exclude the inherent power of the court to order the supply of copies of documents in complaint cases.
Final Decision: The High Court dismissed all fourteen appeals and upheld the discharge of the accused.
A.D.KOSHAL, J.
1. By this judgement we shall dispose of fourteen appeals (Criminal Appeals Nos. 1028 to 1041 of 1966) which are directed against a similar number of orders, all dated the 18th of December, 1963, passed by Shri N.K. Jain, Magistrate 1st Class, Amritsar, in the same number of complaints instituted by the Municipal Committee, Amritsar (hereinafter to be referred to as the Committee), each for an offence under Section 78 of the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911, and R. V.65 of the Punjab Municipal Account Code, the order in each case being that the accused persons concerned be "discharged".
2. The allegations made in the complaints mentioned above were identical except for the number and names of the accused persons in each of them and may be stated thus. In demi-official letter No. XIII (39)-Vol. III/722 dated the 8th of April, 1959, addressed to the Executive Officer of the Committee, Shri Lakhi Singh, Examiner, Local Fund Accounts, Punjab, Jullundur, stated that considerable quantities of sugar had been imported into the Amritsar municipal limits without payment of octroi duty. The Committee passed resolution No. 52 dated the 9th of April, 1959, in pursuance of which the matter was reported to the police who held investigations and informed the Committee by means of a letter dated the 19th of July, 1961, that an offence under Section 78 of the Punjab Municipal Act had been committed by the persons accused in each of the complaints mentioned above but that it was a non-cognisable offence, judicial action in regard to which could be taken only on a complaint filed by the Committee before the Court having jurisdiction. This letter was based on the report prepared by the police (as a result of the investigation) in which the details of the consignments of sugar imported into the Amritsar municipal limits as also of the octroi duty evaded on various occasions were given. Accused No. 1 (who is a different person or firm in each of the 14 cases) was the person or firm, according to the findings of the police, who had bought sugar from various mills and had brought the same to the Bhagtanwala Railway Station, Amritsar, under different railway receipts, the details whereof appeared in the police report. He deputed Sant Singh, a Station Broker working at the Bhagtanwala Railway Station (who figures as respondent No. 3 in Appeals Nos. 1028 to 1033 and 1039 to 1041, as respondent No. 6 in Appeal No. 1034, as respondent No. 8 in Appeal No. 1035, as respondent No. 4 in Appeal No. 1036 and as respondent No. 5 in Appeals Nos. 1037 and 1038) to take delivery of the sugar so imported which was intended for consumption, use or sale within the said municipal limits. Sant Singh was bound under Rules V.23 and V.24 of the Municipal Account Code to present the railway receipts in question at the railway barrier and to make payment of the octroi duty due on the goods covered by them before taking delivery thereof but he obtained such delivery without doing any such thing so that accused No. 1 and Sant Singh were guilty of offences under Rule V.65 of the Municipal Account Code. Besides, accused No. 1, Sant Singh accused and the other accused had imported sugar within the octori boundary of the Amritsar Municipality without payment of octroi duty and with the intention of defrauding the Committee and all of them had, therefore, committed an offence under Section 78 of the Punjab Municipal Act as per information given by the police in their letter dated the 19th of July, 1961, above mentioned.
3. A list of documents accompanied each of the fourteen complaints. The documents mentioned included the demi-official letter addressed by the Examiner, Local Fund Account, Punjab, to the Executive Officer of the Committee, resolution No. 52 dated the 9th of April, 1959, passed by the Committee, the first information report made by the committee to the police, the report prepared by the police after investigation, the police investigation file, the
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