v. .

An Indian trader living temporily in Ceylon is not an excepted person within the meaning of section 3 of the Village Communities Ordinance of 1924.

from an order of the Police Magistrate of Colombo.

J. S. Jayewardene, for complainant, appellant.

May 8, 1928.
The complainant S. Doresamy Nadar of Galle road, charged one Leon of Dehiwala with causing hurt to him on November 19, 1927, at 9 P.M. at the complainant's boutique by striking him with a piece of firewood, under section 314 of the Penal Code. The accused pleaded that the Village Tribunal had exclusive jurisdiction and the learned Magistrate upheld his plea. The complainant is an Indian temporarily living in Ceylon, though not born in Ceylon. He is a boutique-keeper. It was agreed that the offence, if any, was committed outside the Municipal limits.

The Village Communities Ordinance, No. 9 of 1924, enacts that a Village Tribunal shall have jurisdiction to try all offences enumerated in the Schedule section 55, Head B (b). The first offence mentioned in the schedule is that of voluntarily causing hurt under the Penal Code. No Village Tribunal, however,