SHACHEENDRA DWIVEDI, J.

( 1 ) THIS petition poses a problem of vital importance as to whether the Sessions Court which is the Special Court specified under section 14 of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 (for short the Act) is empowered to try the offence under the Act without its committal by the Court of Magistrate, as provided under section 193, of the Code of Criminal Procedure (hereinafter referred to as Codet ).

( 2 ) SINCE the petition involves only a legal question, the facts of the case arc not very material. Suffice it to state that the Court of Sessions, specified as Special Court under the impugned order, refused to entertain and try the offence under the Act, on the ground that it had no power to try those offences which were not committed to it by the Magistrate as reouired under section 193 of the Code, and, therefore, dismissed the complaint filed by the petitioner, with further liberty to her to file it before the Magistrate concerned.

( 3 ) ALTHOUGH the Code of Criminal Procedure lays down the separate procedure to be followed for the trial of offences on police report and on private complaint and which are exclusively triable by the Court of Session with a restriction under section 193 that the Court of Session shall not take cognizance of any offence as a Court of original jurisdiction, unless the ease was committed to it by a Magistrate under the Code. The Code as general law, provides the procedure for the investigation, enouiry and trial of the offences. By virtue of Sections 4 and 5 of the Code, its provisions have been made applicable so all investigations, inouiries and trials of the offences under the Indian Penal Code and/or other Laws, unless a separate procedure was otherwise provided therein.

( 4 ) IT would be useful to reproduce sections 4 and 5 of the Code for the ready reference in the further discussion on the issue. 4. Trial of offences under the Indian penal Code and other laws. (1) all offences under the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1960) shall be investigated, inouired into, tried, and otherwise dealt with according to the provisions hereinafter contained. (2) All offences under any other law shall be investigated, inouired into, tried, and otherwise dealt with according to the same provisions, but subject to any enactment for the time being in force regulating the manner or place of investigating, inouiring into, trying or otherwise dealing with such offences. T( 5 ) SAVING.- Nothing contained in this Code shall in absence of a specific provision to the contrary, affect any special or local law for the time being in force, or any special jurisdiction or power conferred, or any special form of procedure prescribed, by any other law for the time being in force. 5. The conjoint effect of section 4 (2) and section 5 is that all offences whether under Indian Penal Code or under any other law, have to be investigated, inouired into, tried and otherwise dealt with according to the provisions of the Code, unless there be an enactment, regulating the manner of investigation, inouiry or trial or of even otherwise dealing with such offences and in that situation the provisions of such special or local enactment would prevail over those of the Code, to that extent. Sub-section (2) of section 4 of the Code and also the saving clause provide in section 5 clearly indicate that when a Special Act specifies certain offences and lays down a special procedure, the offences under such an Act must be tried under that Act itself. When an act or omission constitutes an offence under two different Acts, it should be dealt with under the Special Act if one falls strictly within it rather than the general law. But when no special procedure is prescribed by the special law, the general procedure laid down in the Code should be followed. Again there is a further provision in section 5 of the Code should be followed. Again there is a further provision in section 5 of the Code

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