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1961 Supreme(All) 43

IN THE HIGH COURT OF ALLAHABAD
D. S. Mathur, J.
MUNICIPAL BOARD - Appellant
Versus
BHIM SINGH - Respondents
Criminal Revn. 1505 Of 1960
Decided On : 03/29/1961

Advocates Appeared:
SHANTI BHUSHAN

Headnote:

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE - SECTION 435 - REVISION - JURISDICTION OF SESSIONS JUDGE - ASSISTANT SESSIONS JUDGE - INFERIOR CRIMINAL COURT - INTERPRETATION - PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE - HIGH COURT - ADMISSION OF REVISION - CONDITIONS - DIRECTIONS TO OFFICE.

Fact of the Case:

The Municipal Board of Bijnor challenged the orders of the Assistant Sessions Judge, Bijnor, allowing criminal appeals preferred by Bhim Singh, Baldeo Singh Kishore, and Kailash Chandra alias Munnoo. The revisions were presented directly before the High Court without first approaching the Sessions Judge.

Finding of the Court:

1. The High Court has inherent powers under Section 561-A, Cr. P. C. to prevent abuse of the process of the Court and to secure the ends of justice. 2. The practice of the High Court is not to entertain a revision under Section 435, Cr. P. C. unless the Sessions Judge has first been approached, but this is a rule of practice and not the law. 3. The Sessions Judge has the jurisdiction to entertain a revision under Section 435, Cr. P. C. against an order of the Assistant Sessions Judge passed in the exercise of original or appellate jurisdiction. 4. The Court of an Assistant Sessions Judge is an inferior Criminal Court with reference to the Sessions Judge. 5. Where the High Court entertains a revision directly without the party having approached the Sessions Judge, there would be no illegality, but a mere departure from the above practice.

Issues: 1. Whether the High Court can vacate the orders of admission of the revisions passed without the Court being informed that no revision had been filed before the Sessions Judge. 2. Whether the Sessions Judge has the jurisdiction to entertain a revision under Section 435, Cr. P. C. against an order of the Assistant Sessions Judge passed in the exercise of original or appellate jurisdiction. 3. Whether the Court of an Assistant Sessions Judge is an inferior Criminal Court with reference to the Sessions Judge.

Ratio Decidendi: 1. The High Court has inherent powers under Section 561-A, Cr. P. C. to prevent abuse of the process of the Court and to secure the ends of justice. However, in the present case, the applicant was not guilty of concealment of material facts or acting in bad faith, and the revisions had been pending for a long time. Therefore, it would not be desirable to vacate the orders of admission. 2. The Sessions Judge has the jurisdiction to entertain a revision under Section 435, Cr. P. C. against an order of the Assistant Sessions Judge passed in the exercise of original or appellate jurisdiction. The Court of an Assistant Sessions Judge is an inferior Criminal Court with reference to the Sessions Judge, as it is subordinate to the Sessions Judge and appeals against the decisions of an Assistant Sessions Judge lie to the Sessions Judge.

Final Decision: The revisions were allowed to be listed before the Bench concerned for final hearing.

D. S. MATHUR, J.

( 1 ) THIS order governs Criminal Revisions Nos. 1502 to 1505 of 1960 by the Municipal Board of bijnor against the judgments of Sri Sachidanand, Assistant Sessions Judge, Bijnor whereby criminal Appeals preferred by Bhim Singh, Baldeo Singh Kishore and Kailash Chandra alias munnoo were allowed. The Criminal Revisions were presented, before me as Application Judge on 6-9-1960 with office reports dated 31-8-1960. The office did not make a note that the revisions were being presented in Court directly without first of all approaching the Sessions judge. This fact was also not brought to the notice of the Application Judge, but the facts as detailed in the hearing of the revisions would have indicated that no revision had been made before the Sessions Judge and the applicant was challenging the order of discharge directly before the High Court, It cannot, therefore, be said that the applicant was guilty of, or was in any way responsible for concealment of facts. The fact, however, remains that the order of admission was passed without the Court being informed, in clear words, that no revision had been filed before the Sessions Judge. The applicant cannot, therefore, escape the responsibility (for improper admission of the revisions, but it was mentioned by the learned Advocate that he was under the impression that no revision, lay before the Sessions Judge as his was a Court of co-ordinate jurisdiction as far as Criminal appeals were concerned and consequently the revisions were filed directly before the High court and it was not brought to the notice of the Application Judge that such a recourse was being adopted.

( 2 ) AN order passed in a Criminal proceeding can be modified or quashed in exercise of the inherent powers under Section 561-A, Cr. P. C. This section, clearly provides :

"nothing in this Code shall be deemed to limit or affect the inherent power of the High Court to make such orders as may be necessary to give effect to any order under this Code, or to prevent abuse of the process of any Court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice. "

The first and the last clauses of Section 561-A, Cri. P. C are not applicable to the facts of these cases. In other words, this Court would be Justified to vacate the orders dated 6-9-1960 and to reject the revisions on the ground that the Sessions Judge had not first been approached only if it is necessary to prevent abuse of the process of the Court. If the applicant was guilty of concealment of material facts or was not acting in good faith when full facts were not detailed in the petition, this court would have been justified to interfere by vacating the orders already passed so that no one may dare to approach this Court with incomplete facts. As already mentioned above the present cannot be said to be cases in which the applicant was guilty of concealment of facts. It is different thing that if it was noticed that the Sessions Judge had not been moved, the revisions may not have been admitted; but it is likely that if the revisions were being summarily dismissed on the above technical ground, the teamed Advocate for the applicant would have argued that no revision lay before the Sessions Judge. This point has been argued before me in detail and consequently it is possible that the revisions may have been admitted so that this question may be decided by this Court for the guidance of the litigants, the members of the Bar and also the subordinate courts. To put it differently, the present are not the cases in which this Court may exercise its inherent jurisdiction under Section 561-A, Cri. P. C. to quash the orders of admission dated 6-9-1960.

( 3 ) THE above view cannot be said to be in disregard of the practice of this Court. In the Full bench case of Shailabala Devi v. Emperor, AIR 1933 All 678 (FB), the revision was disposed, of on merits after rejecting the preliminary objection raised by the Government Advocate, even though no revision had been filed before

























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