We have no doubt that a Special Court under this Act is essentially a Court of Session and it can take cognizance of the offence when the case is committed to it by the magistrate in accordance with the provisions of the Code. In other words, a complaint or a charge-sheet cannot straightway be laid before the Special Court under the Act.
SUPREME COURT OF INDIAArticle 124 of the Constitution of India Constitution of India > 124. Supreme Court (1) There shall be a Supreme Court of India consisting of a Chief Justice of India and, until Parliament by law prescribes a larger number, of not more than seven other Judges. (2) Every Judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal and shall hold office until he attains the age of sixty-five years: Provided that-- (a) a Judge may, by writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign his office (b) a Judge may be removed from his office in the manner provided in clause (4). (2A) The age of a Judge of the Supreme Court shall be determined by such authority and in such manner as Parliament may by law provide. (3) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court unless he is a citizen of India and-- (a) has been for at least five years a Judge of a High Court or of two or more such Courts in succession; or (b) has been for at least ten years an advocate of a High Court or of two or more such courts in succession; or (c) is, in the opinion of the President, a distinguished jurist. (4) A Judge of the Supreme Court shall not be removed from his office except by an order of the President passed after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-third of the members of the House present and voting has been presented to the President in the same session for such removal on the ground of proved misbehavior or incapacity. (5) Parliament may by law regulate the procedure for the presentation of an address and for the investigation and proof of the misbehavior or incapacity of a Judge under clause (4): (6) Every person appointed to be a Judge of the Supreme Court shall, before he enters upon his office, make and subscribe before the President, or some person appointed in that behalf by him, an oath or affirmation according to the form set out for the purpose in the Third Schedule. (7) No person who has held office as a Judge of the Supreme Court shall plead or act in any court or before any authority within the territory of India.
Gangula Ashok and another Vs State of ANDHRA PRADESH
(Before: K. T. Thomas And M. B. Shah, JJ.)
Criminal AppealCriminal Appeal Shankar Kerba Jadhav and others vs. The State of Maharashtra (AIR 1971 SC 840): "An appeal is a creature of a statute and the powers and jurisdiction of the appellate Court must be circumscribed by the words of the statute. At the same time a Court of appeal is a "Court of error" and its normal function is to correct the decision appealed from and its jurisdiction should be co-extensive with that of the trial Court. It cannot and ought not to do something which the trial Court was not competent to do. There does not seem to be any fetter to its power to do what the trial Court could do." No. 94 of 2000 (arising out of S.L.P. (Cri) No. 3828 of 1999)
Decided on: 28-01-2000.
Counsel for the Parties:
Shakil Ahmed Syed, Shujat Hussain, Advocates, for Appellants
Guntur Prabhakar, Advocate, for Respondent.
Judgement
Thomas, J—Leave granted.
2. Can a “special Court” which is envisaged in Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, (for short ‘the Act’) take cognizance of any offence without the case being committed to that Court? If it cannot, then appellants cannot raise any grievance at this stage regarding framing of a charge against them as they would get an opportunity for it later.
3. First appellant is a practicing advocate and second appellant is his wife who was working as Matron of a Girls’ Hostel run by the Social Welfare Department. One Kumari G. Swetha was a resident of the said hostel. On 27-2-1996 the said Swetha lodged a complaint with the police alleging that on 6-1-1996 the first appellant outraged/tried to outrage her modesty. The police after investigationInvestigation Purpose of all investigation is to reveal the unvarnished truth. The constitutional courts are duty bound to ensure that the truth is revealed., filed a charge-sheet directly before the Sessions Court, Karim Nagar (Andhra Pradesh) which was designated as the special Court for trial of offences under the Act committed within the territorial limits of the districtDistrict India has 800 districts under 29 federal states and 8 union territories. Adilabad Agar-Malwa Agra Ahilyanagar Ahmedabad Aizawl Ajmer Akola Alappuzha Aligarh Alipurduar Alirajpur Alluri Sitharama Raju Almora Alwar Ambala Ambedkar Nagar Amethi Amravati Amreli Amritsar Amroha Anakapalli Anand Ananthapuramu Anantnag Anjaw Annamayya Anugul Anuppur Araria Ariyalur Arvalli Arwal Ashoknagar Auraiya Aurangabad Ayodhya Azamgarh Bagalkote Bageshwar Baghpat Bahraich Bajali Baksa Balaghat Balangir Baleshwar Ballari Ballia Balod Balodabazar-Bhatapara Balotra Balrampur Balrampur-Ramanujganj Banas Kantha Banda Bandipora Banka Bankura Banswara Bapatla Bara Banki Baramulla Baran Bareilly Bargarh Barmer Barnala Barpeta Barwani Bastar Basti Bathinda Beawar Beed Begusarai Belagavi Bemetara Bengaluru Rural Bengaluru Urban Betul Bhadohi Bhadradri Kothagudem Bhadrak Bhagalpur Bhandara Bharatpur Bharuch Bhavnagar Bhilwara Bhind Bhiwani Bhojpur Bhopal Bichom Bidar Bijapur Bijnor Bikaner Bilaspur Bilaspur Birbhum Bishnupur Biswanath Bokaro Bongaigaon Botad Boudh Budaun Budgam Bulandshahr Buldhana Bundi Burhanpur Buxar Cachar Central Chamarajanagar Chamba Chamoli Champawat Champhai Chandauli Chandel Chandigarh Chandrapur Changlang Charaideo Charkhi Dadri Chatra Chengalpattu Chennai Chhatarpur Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Chhindwara Chhotaudepur Chikkaballapura Chikkamagaluru Chirang Chitradurga Chitrakoot Chittoor Chittorgarh Chumoukedima Churachandpur Churu Coimbatore Cooch Behar Cuddalore Cuttack Dadra And Nagar Haveli Dahod Dakshin Bastar Dantewada Dakshin Dinajpur Dakshina Kannada Dhenkanal Dholpur Dhubri Dhule Dibang Valley Dibrugarh Didwana-Kuchaman Dima Hasao Dimapur Dindigul Dindori Diu Doda Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema Dumka Dungarpur Durg East East Garo Hills East Godavari East Jaintia Hills East Kameng East Khasi Hills East Siang East Singhbum Eastern West Khasi Hills Eluru Ernakulam Erode Etah Etawah Faridabad Faridkot Farrukhabad Fatehabad Fatehgarh Sahib Fatehpur Fazilka Ferozepur Firozabad Gadag Gadchiroli Gajapati Ganderbal Gandhinagar Ganganagar Gangtok Ganjam Garhwa Gariyaband Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi Gautam Buddha Nagar Gaya Ghaziabad Ghazipur Gir Somnath Giridih Goalpara Godda Golaghat Gomati Gonda Gondia Gopalganj Gorakhpur Gumla Guna Guntur Gurdaspur Gurugram Gwalior Gyalshing Hailakandi Hamirpur Hamirpur Hanumakonda Hanumangarh Hapur Harda Hardoi Haridwar Hassan Hathras Haveri Hazaribagh Hingoli Hisar Hnahthial Hojai Hooghly Hoshiarpur Howrah Hyderabad Idukki Imphal East Imphal West Indore Jabalpur Jagatsinghapur Jagitial Jaipur Jaisalmer Jajapur Jalandhar Jalaun Jalgaon Jalna Jalore Jalpaiguri Jammu Jamnagar Jamtara Jamui Jangoan Janjgir-Champa Jashpur Jaunpur Jayashankar Bhupalapally Jehanabad Jhabua Jhajjar Jhalawar Jhansi Jhargram Jharsuguda Jhunjhunu Jind Jiribam Jodhpur Jogulamba Gadwal Jorhat Junagadh Kabeerdham Kachchh Kaimur (Bhabua) Kaithal Kakching Kakinada Kalaburagi Kalahandi Kalimpong Kallakurichi Kamareddy Kamjong Kamle Kamrup Kamrup Metro Kancheepuram Kandhamal Kangpokpi Kangra Kannauj Kanniyakumari Kannur Kanpur Dehat Kanpur Nagar Kapurthala Karaikal Karauli Karbi Anglong Kargil Karimganj Karimnagar Karnal Karur Kasaragod Kasganj Kathua Daman Damoh Dangs Darbhanga Darjeeling Darrang Datia Dausa Davanagere Deeg Dehradun Deogarh Deoghar Deoria Devbhumi Dwarka Dewas Dhalai Dhamtari Dhanbad Dhar Dharashiv Dharmapuri Dharwad Dhemaji Katihar Katni Kaushambi Kendrapara Kendujhar Keyi Panyor Khagaria Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai Khairthal-Tijara Khammam Khandwa (East Nimar) Khargone (West Nimar) Khawzawl Kheda Kheri Khordha Khowai Khunti Kinnaur Kiphire Kishanganj Kishtwar Kodagu Koderma Kohima Kokrajhar Kolar Kolasib Kolhapur Kolkata Kollam Kondagaon Koppal Koraput Korba Korea Kota Kotputli-Behror Kottayam Kozhikode Kra Daadi Krishna Krishnagiri Kulgam Kullu Kumuram Bheem Asifabad Kupwara Kurnool Kurukshetra Kurung Kumey Kushinagar Lahaul And Spiti Lakhimpur Lakhisarai Lakshadweep District Lalitpur Latehar Latur Lawngtlai Leh Ladakh Leparada Lohardaga Lohit Longding Longleng Lower Dibang Valley Lower Siang Lower Subansiri Lucknow Ludhiana Lunglei MAUGANJ Madhepura Madhubani Madurai Mahabubabad Mahabubnagar Mahasamund Mahendragarh Mahesana Mahisagar Mahoba Mahrajganj Maihar Mainpuri Majuli Malappuram Malda Malerkotla Malkangiri Mamit Mancherial Mandi Mandla Mandsaur Mandya Munger Murshidabad Muzaffarnagar Muzaffarpur Mysuru Nabarangpur Nadia Nagaon Nagapattinam Nagarkurnool Nagaur Nagpur Nainital Nalanda Nalbari Nalgonda Namakkal Namchi Namsai Nanded Nandurbar Nandyal Narayanpet Narayanpur Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur(M C B) Mangan Mansa Marigaon Mathura Mau Mayiladuthurai Mayurbhanj Medak Medchal Malkajgiri Meerut Meluri Mirzapur Moga Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chouki Mokokchung Mon Moradabad Morbi Morena Mulugu Mumbai Mumbai Suburban Mungeli Narmada Narmadapuram Narsimhapur Nashik Navsari Nawada Nayagarh Neemuch New Delhi Nicobars Nirmal Niuland Niwari Nizamabad Noklak Noney North North 24 Parganas North And Middle Andaman North East North Garo Hills North Goa North Tripura North West Ntr Nuapada Nuh Pakke Kessang Pakur Pakyong Palakkad Palamu Palghar Pali Palnadu Palwal Panch Mahals Panchkula Pandhurna Panipat Panna Papum Pare Parbhani Parvathipuram Manyam Paschim Bardhaman Paschim Medinipur Pashchim Champaran Patan Pathanamthitta Pathankot Patiala Patna Pauri Garhwal Peddapalli Perambalur Peren Phalodi Phek Pherzawl Pilibhit Pithoragarh Poonch Porbandar Prakasam Pratapgarh Pratapgarh Prayagraj Puducherry Pudukkottai Pulwama Pune Purba Bardhaman Ranipet Ratlam Ratnagiri Rayagada Reasi Rewa Rewari Ri Bhoi Rohtak Rohtas Rudraprayag Rupnagar S.A.S Nagar Sabar Kantha Sagar Saharanpur Saharsa Sahebganj Saitual Sakti Salem Salumbar Samastipur Samba Purba Medinipur Purbi Champaran Puri Purnia Purulia Rae Bareli Raichur Raigad Raigarh Raipur Raisen Rajanna Sircilla Rajgarh Rajkot Rajnandgaon Rajouri Rajsamand Ramanagara Ramanathapuram Ramban Ramgarh Rampur Ranchi Ranga Reddy Sambalpur Sambhal Sangareddy Sangli Sangrur Sant Kabir Nagar Saraikela Kharsawan Saran Sarangarh-Bilaigarh Satara Satna Sawai Madhopur Sehore Senapati Seoni Sepahijala Serchhip Shahdara Shahdol Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar Shahjahanpur Shajapur Shamator Shamli Sheikhpura Sheohar Sheopur Shi Yomi Shimla Shivamogga Shivpuri Shopian Shrawasti Siaha Siang Siddharthnagar Siddipet Sidhi Sikar Simdega Sindhudurg Singrauli Sirmaur Sirohi Sirsa Sitamarhi Sitapur Sivaganga Sivasagar Siwan Solan Solapur Sonbhadra Sonepur Sonipat Sonitpur Soreng South South 24 Parganas South Andamans South East South Garo Hills South Goa South Salmara Mancachar South Tripura South West South West Garo Hills South West Khasi Hills Sri Muktsar Sahib Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore Sri Sathya Sai Srikakulam Srinagar Sukma Sultanpur Sundargarh Supaul Surajpur Surat Surendranagar Surguja Suryapet Tamenglong Tamulpur Tapi Tarn Taran Tawang Tehri Garhwal Tengnoupal Tenkasi Thane Thanjavur The Nilgiris Theni Thiruvallur Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvarur Thoothukkudi Thoubal Thrissur Tikamgarh Tinsukia Tirap Tiruchirappalli Tirunelveli Tirupathur Tirupati Tiruppur Tiruvannamalai Tonk Tseminyu Tuensang Tumakuru Udaipur Udalguri Udham Singh Nagar Udhampur Udupi Ujjain Ukhrul Warangal Wardha Washim Wayanad West West Garo Hills West Godavari West Jaintia Hills West Kameng West Karbi Anglong West Khasi Hills West Siang West Singhbhum West Tripura Wokha Y.S.R. Yadadri Bhuvanagiri Yadgir Yamunanagar Yavatmal Zunheboto Umaria Una Unakoti Unnao Upper Siang Upper Subansiri Uttar Bastar Kanker Uttar Dinajpur Uttara Kannada Uttarkashi Vadodara Vaishali Valsad Varanasi Vellore Vidisha Vijayanagara Vijayapura Vikarabad Viluppuram Virudhunagar Visakhapatnam Vizianagaram Wanaparthy concerned. In the charge-sheet, first appellant is alleged to have committed the offence under Section 3 (1) (XI) of the Act and also Section 354 of the IndianIndia Hind/ hend >hindia. Bharat Varsha (Jambudvipa used in Mahavamsha) is the name of this land mass. The people of this land are Sanatan Dharmin and they always defeated invaders. Indra (10000 yrs) was the oldest deified King of this land. Manu's jurisprudence enlitened this land. Vedas have been the civilizational literature of this land. Guiding principles of this land are : सत्यं वद । धर्मं चर । स्वाध्यायान्मा प्रमदः । The place also been called Hindusthan in Pesia. The word Hendu is mentioned in Avesta. Read more Penal CodePenal Code Indian Penal Code (Naya Samhita-2023), Pakistan Penal code-1960,. Besides first appellant, the investigating officer arrayed his wife as the second appellant for the offence under Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code in relation to the offences put against her husband, on the allegation that when Kumari Swetha complained to the second appellant of the misdemeanor committed by the first accused, she tried to persuade the complainant not to divulge it to anybody else. Subsequently the police dropped Section 354 of the IPC from the charge-sheet and filed a revised charge sheet pursuant to a query put by the Special Judge concerned.
4. A charge was framed by the Special Judge against both the appellants for the aforesaid offences respectively. It was presumably at the said stage that the appellants moved the High CourtHigh Court High Court Judges in England and Wales handle complex and tough cases, sitting in London and traveling to court centers around the country. They preside over serious criminal and important civil cases, and support the Lord and Lady Justices in hearing appeals. High Court Judges are commonly referred to as ‘Mr/Mrs/Ms Justice surname’ and are given the prefix ‘The Honourable’. They are assigned to the King’s Bench Division, the Family Division, or the Chancery Division. The King’s Bench Division focuses on civil wrongs and judicial review, the Family Division deals with family law, and the Chancery Division handles various cases including company law and probate. Judges are appointed through a rigorous process overseen by the Judicial Appointments Commission. for quashing the charge as well as the charge-sheet on various reasons. A single Judge of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh found that the procedure adopted by the investigating officer in filing the charge-sheet straightway to the Special Court was not in accordance with lawLaw νόμος: Positive command of sovereign or divine. One can be ruled either by a Statute, a Statue, or a Statement. Legislation is the rule-making process by a political or religious organisation. Physics governs natural law. Logical thinking is a sign of a healthy brain function. Dharma is eternal for Sanatanis. Judiciary > Show me the face, and I will show you the law. Some people know how to bend the law rather than break it. Law Practice. Read a scholarly article, and the Special Judge had no jurisdictionJurisdiction Authority by which courts receive and decide cases. Limited Jurisdiction: the authority over only particular types of cases, or cases under a prescribed amount in controversy, or seeking only certain types of relief, the District Court is a court of limited jurisdiction. Original Jurisdiction: Jurisdiction of the first court to hear a case. to take cognizance of any offence under the Act without the case having been committed to that Court. Accordingly the learned single Judge set aside the proceedings of the Special Court and directed the charge sheet and the connected papers to be returned to the police officer concerned who, in turn, was directed to present the same before a Judicial Magistrate of 1st class “for the purpose of commital to the Special Court”. Learned single Judge further directed that “on such committal the Special Court shall frame appropriate charges in the light of the observations in the order.”
5. Appellants have filed this appeal by special leave in challenge of the aforesaid order of the learned single Judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
6. We have to consider whether the Special Judge could take cognizance of the offence straightway without the case being committed to him. If the Special Court is a Court of Session the interdict contained in Section 193 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (for short ‘the Code’) would stand in the way. It reads thus:
“193. Cognizance of offences by Courts of Session.- Except as otherwise expressly provided by this Code or by any other law for the timeTime χρόνος. Judicial: Where any expression of it occurs in any Rules, or any judgment, order or direction, and whenever the doing or not doing of anything at a certain time of the day or night or during a certain part of the day or night has an effect in law, that time is, unless it is otherwise specifically stated, held to be standard time as used in a particular country or state. (In Physics, time and Space never exist actually-“quantum entanglement”) यमः , पुं, (यमयति नियमयति जीवानां फलाफलमिति । यम् + अच् । विश्वे च कलयत्येव यः सर्व्वायुश्च सन्ततम् । अतीव दुर्निवार्य्यञ्च तं कालं प्रणमाम्यहम् ॥यमैश्च नियमैश्चैव यः करोत्यात्मसंयमम् । स चादृष्ट्वा तु मां याति परं ब्रह्म सनातनम् ॥ being in force, no Court of Session shall take cognizance of any offence as a Court of original jurisdiction unless the case has been committed to it by a Magistrate under this Code.”
7. So the first aspect to be considered is whether the Special Court is a Court of Session. Chapter II of the Code deals with “ConstitutionConstitution The Constitution encompasses the global system of rules governing constitutional authority. Simply reading selected provisions of the written text may be misleading. Understanding the underlying principles, such as federalism, democracy, constitutionalism, the rule of law, and respect for minorities, is crucial. Democratic institutions must allow for ongoing discussion and evolution, reflected in the right of participants to initiate constitutional change. This right entails a reciprocal duty to engage in discussions. Democracy involves more than majority rule, existing within the context of other constitutional values. Therefore, a profound understanding of these principles informs our appreciation of constitutional rights and obligations. Read more of Criminal Courts and Offices”. Section 6, which falls thereunder says that “there shall be, in every State, the following classes of Criminal Courts, namely:- (i) Courts of Session’”
(The other classes of criminal Courts enumerated thereunder are not relevant in this case and hence omitted.)
8. Section 14 of the Act says that “for the purpose of providing for speedy trial, the State GovernmentGovernment HM Govt consists of the Prime Minister, their Cabinet, and junior ministers, supported by the teams of non-political civil servants that work in government departments. The American Federal Government consists of the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches. shall, with the concurrence of the Chief JusticeJustice δικαιοσύνη > judicature ( δικαιοσύνη) > judge (δικαστής / κριτής). The whole purpose of Plato`s Republic is to search for Justice. The purpose of Justice is to establish a perfect State. The State of happiness (ευτυχία) of the High Court, by notification in the OfficialOffice Αξίωμα > Officer > Office-bearer (1593) > Opus, officium, ex officio (Latin). Box-office (Cash Box). Gazette, specify for each district a Court of Session to be a Special Court to try the offences under this Act”. So it is for trial of the offences under the Act that a particular Court of Session in each district is sought to be specified as a Special Court. Though the wordWord Λόγος “trial” is not defined either in the Code or in the Act it is clearly distinguishable from inquiry. The word “inquiry” is defined in Section 2 (g) of the Code as “every inquiry, other than trial, conducted under this Code by a magistrate or Court”. So the trial is distinct from inquiry and inquiry must always be a forerunner to the trial. The Act contemplates only the trial to be conducted by the Special Court. The added reason for specifying a Court of Session as Special Court is to ensure speed for such trial. “Special Court” is defined in the Act as “a Court of Session specified as a Special Court in Section 14”. (vide S. 2 (1) (d)).
9. Thus the Court of Session is specified to conduct a trial and no other Court can conduct the trial of offences under the Act. Why the Parliament provided that only a Court of Session can be specified as a Special Court? Evidently the legislature wanted the Special Court to be Court of Session. Hence the particular Court of Session, even after being specified as a Special Court, would continue to be essentially a Court of Session and designation of it as a Special Court would not denude it of its character or even powers as a Court of Session. The trial in such a Court can be conducted only in the manner provided in Chapter XVIII of the Code which contains a fasciculus of provisions for “Trial before a Court of Session”.
10. Section 193 of the Code has to be understood in the aforesaid backdrop. The section imposes an interdict on all Courts of Session against taking cognizance of any offence as a Court of original jurisdiction. It can take cognizance only if “the case has been committed to it by a magistrate”, as provided in the Code. Two segments have been indicated in Section 193 as exceptions to the aforesaid interdict. One is, when the Code itself has provided differently in express language regarding taking of cognizance, and the second is when any other law has provided differently in express language regarding taking cognizance of offences under such law. The word “expressly” which is employed in Section 193 denoting to those exceptions is indicative of the legislative mandate that a Court of Session can depart from the interdict contained in the section only if it is provided differently in clear and unambiguous terms. In other words, unless it is positively and specifically provided differently no Court of Session can take cognizance of any offence directly, without the case being committed to it by a magistrate.
11. Neither in the Code nor in the Act there is any provision whatsoever, not even by implication, that the specified Court of Session (Special Court) can take cognizance of the offence under the Act as a Court of original jurisdiction without the case being committed to it by a magistrate. If that be so, there is no reason to think that the charge- sheet or a complaint can straightway be filed before such Special Court for offences under the Act. It can be discerned from the hierarchical settings of criminal Courts that the Court of Session is given a superior and special status. Hence we think that the legislature would have thoughtfully relieved the Court of Session from the work of performing all the preliminary formalities which magistrates have to do until the case is committed to the Court of Session.
12. We have noticed from some of the decisions rendered by various High CourtsHigh Court High Court Judges in England and Wales handle complex and tough cases, sitting in London and traveling to court centers around the country. They preside over serious criminal and important civil cases, and support the Lord and Lady Justices in hearing appeals. High Court Judges are commonly referred to as ‘Mr/Mrs/Ms Justice surname’ and are given the prefix ‘The Honourable’. They are assigned to the King’s Bench Division, the Family Division, or the Chancery Division. The King’s Bench Division focuses on civil wrongs and judicial review, the Family Division deals with family law, and the Chancery Division handles various cases including company law and probate. Judges are appointed through a rigorous process overseen by the Judicial Appointments Commission. that contentions were advanced based on Sections 4 and 5 of the Code as suggesting that a departure from Section 193 of the Code is permissible under special enactments. Section 4 of the Code contains two sub-sections of which the first sub-section is of no relevance since it deals only with offences under the Indian Penal Code. However, sub-Section (2) deals with offences under other laws and hence the same can be looked into. Sub-section (2) of Section 4 is extracted below:
“All offences under any other law shall be investigated, inquired 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, inquiring into, trying or otherwise dealing with such offences.”
13. A reading of the sub-section makes it clear that subject to the provisions in other enactments all offences under other laws shall also be investigated, inquired into, tried and otherwise dealt with under the provisions of the Code. This means that if other enactment contains any provision which is contrary to the provisions of the Code, such other functions would apply in place of the particular provision of the Code. If there is no such contrary provision in other laws, then provisions of the Code would apply to the matters covered thereby. This aspect has been emphasised by a Constitution Bench of this Court in paragraph 16 of the decision in A. R. Antulay v. Ramdas Sriniwas Nayak, (1984) 2 SCCSCC Supreme Court Cases 500. It reads thus:
“Section 4 (2) provides for offences under other law which may be investigated, inquired into, tried and otherwise dealt with according to the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure but subject to any enactment for the time being in force regulating the manner or place of investigation, inquiring into, trying or otherwise dealing with such offences. In the absence of a specific provision made in the statuteStatute A formal written legal enactment by a sovereign law-making body (Νόμος) > National Constitutions > National Laws > Indian Laws indicating that offences will have to be investigated, inquired into, tried and otherwise dealt with according to that statute, the same will have to be investigated, inquired into, tried and otherwise dealt with according to the Code of Criminal Procedure. In other words, Code of Criminal Procedure is the parent statute which provides for investigation, inquiring into and trial of cases by criminal Courts of various designations”.
14. Nor can Section 5 of the Code be brought in aid for supporting the view that the Court of Session specified under the Act can obviate the interdict contained in Section 193 of the Code as long as there is no provision in the Act empowering the Special Court to take cognizance of the offence as a Court of original jurisdiction. Section 5 of the Code reads thus:
“5. Saving.- Nothing contained in this Code shall, in the 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 powerPower The amount of energy transferred or converted per unit of time. In the International System of Units, the unit of it is the watt, equal to one joule per second. The capacity of energy infrastructure is rated using watts, which indicate its potential to supply or consume energy in a given period of time. A Power-plant rated at 100 MW has the potential to produce 100 MWh if it operates for one hour. conferred, or any special form of procedure prescribed, by any other law for the time being in force.”
15. This Court, on a reading of Section 5 in juxtaposition with Section 4 (2) of the Code, has held that “it only relates to the extent of application of the Code in the matterMatter Normal matter is made of molecules, which are themselves made of atoms. Inside the atoms, electrons are spinning around the nucleus. The nucleus is made of protons and neutrons. Inside the protons and neutrons, exist indivisible quarks, like the electrons. All matter around us is made of elementary particles. ( building blocks of matter > quarks and leptons). All stable matter in the universe is made from particles that belong to the first-generation. Fundamental forces result from the exchange of force-carrier particles, which belong to a broader group called “bosons”. The strong force is carried by the “gluon”, electromagnetic force is carried by the “photon.” of territorial and other jurisdiction but does not nullify the effect of Section 4 (2). In short, the provisions of this Code would be applicable to the extent, in the absence of any contrary provision in the special Act or any special provision including the jurisdiction or applicability of the Code”. (vide para 128 in Directorate of Enforcement v. Deepak Mahajan, (1994) 3 SCC 440).
16. Hence we have no doubt that a Special Court under this Act is essentially a Court of Session and it can take cognizance of the offence when the case is committed to it by the magistrate in accordance with the provisions of the Code. In other words, a complaint or a charge-sheet cannot straightway be laid before the Special Court under the Act.
17. When this question was considered by various High Courts, the High Courts of Madhya Pradesh, Allahabad, Patna and Punjab and Haryana have adopted the view consistent with the view which we have stated above. (vide Meerabai v. Bhujbal Singh, 1995 Cri LJ 2376 (MP); Pappu Singh v. State of U.PUttar Pradesh Ancient Aryavarta Region (आर्यावर्त) > District Agra Aligarh Ambedkar Nagar Amethi Amroha Auraiya Ayodhya (Saket) Azamgarh Baghpat Bahraich Ballia Balrampur Banda Barabanki Bareilly Basti Bhadohi Bijnor Budaun Bulandshahar Chandauli Chitrakoot Deoria Etah Etawah Farrukhabad Fatehpur Firozabad Gautam Buddha Nagar Ghaziabad Ghazipur Gonda Gorakhpur Hamirpur Hapur Hardoi Hathras Jalaun Jaunpur Jhansi Kannauj Kanpur Dehat Kanpur Nagar Kasganj Kaushambi Kushi Nagar Lakhimpur Kheri Lalitpur Lucknow (Capital) Maharajganj Mahoba Mainpuri Mathura Mau Meerut Mirzapur Moradabad Muzaffar Nagar Pilibhit Pratapgarh Prayagraj Raebareli Rampur Saharanpur Sambhal Sant Kabir Nagar Shahjahanpur Shamli Shravasti Siddharth Nagar Sitapur Sonbhadra Sultanpur Unnao Varanasi ., 1995 Cri LJ 2803 (Allahabad); Jhagru Mahto v. State of BiharBihar 38 Districts > Araria Arwal Aurangabad Banka Begusarai Bhagalpur Bhojpur Buxar Darbhanga Gaya Gopalganj Jamui Jehanabad Kaimur (Bhabua) Katihar Khagaria Kishanganj Lakhisarai Madhepura Madhubani Munger Muzaffarpur Nalanda Nawada Pashchim Champaran Patna Purbi Champaran Purnia Rohtas Saharsa Siwan Supaul Vaishali Samastipur Saran Sheikhpura Sheohar Sitamarhi, (1993) 1 Crimes 643 (Patna); Jyoti Arora v. State of Haryana, (1998) 2 All Cri LR 73.
18. But it seems that the only High Court which took a contrary view is the High Court of Kerala. At first a Division Bench of that High Court took the view that the Special Court can straightway take cognizance of the offence under the Act and proceed with the trial unaffected by Section 193 of the Code. (vide In re:Director General of Prosecution, 1992 (2) Ker LT 748). One of the Judges of the Division Bench sought support to it from the observations of this Court in A. R. Antulay’s decision (supra) and then observed that “the same principle would apply because of the effect of the transmutation of the Session Court as a Special Court”.
19. When the correctness of the above decision was later doubted by the same High Court the question was referred to a larger bench. In Hareendran v. Sarada, 1996 (1) Andh LT (Cri) 162:1995 (1) Ker LT 231 a Full Bench of that High Court affirmed the view of the Division Bench aforesaid. The Full Bench put forward mainly two reasons for adopting the said interpretation. First is that Section 20 of the Act stipulated that provisions of the Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in force. As the section gives overriding effect for the provisions of the Act and it was enacted with a view to prevent commission of offence of atrocities against the members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the Full Bench felt that “it is rather difficult for us to hold that the comittal proceeding is indispensable as a prelude to the case being tried by the Special Court”. Second is that, there is nothing in the Act to indicate that the Special Court would get jurisdiction only on a committal order made by the magistrate.
20. The very approach of the Full Bench of the Kerala High Court seems to be that there should be specific indication in the Act that the Special Court gets jurisdiction to try the offence only on a committal order, and in the absence of such specific indication the Special Court must have the right to take cognizance of the offence as though it is a Court of original jurisdiction. We have pointed out above that unless there is express provision to the contrary in any other law the interdict contained in Section 193 of the Code cannot be circumvented. Hence the reasoning of the Full Bench in Hareendran v. Sarada, (supra) is apparently fallacious.
21. In factFact Something तथ्य (In-formation) that truly exists or happens or some-thing that has actual existence. Circumstances: a fact or event that makes a situation the way it is. Indian Evidence Act: It means and includes— (i) anything, state of things, or relation of things, capable of being perceived by the senses; (ii) any mental condition of which any person is conscious. “facts in issue” means and includes any fact from which, either by itself or in connection with other facts, the existence, non-existence, nature or extent of any right, liability or disability, asserted or denied in any suit or proceeding, necessarily follows. all the other High Courts which dealt with this question (the decisions of which were cited supra) have dissented from the aforesaid view of the Full Bench of the Kerala High Court, after adverting to the reasons advanced by the Full Bench. A Division Bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court after referring to the Full Bench decision in Hareendran v. Sarada, (supra) made the following observations in Referring Officer rep. By State of A. P. v. Shekar Nair, (1999 (3) Andh LT 533:
“We find it difficult to agree with the reasoning of the Kerala High Court in the two decisions referred to above. As already observed by us, in the absence of a particular procedure prescribed by the said Act as regards the mode of taking cognizance, enquiry or trial, the procedure under the Code will have to be applied by reason of Section 4 (2) of the Code as clarified by the Supreme Court in the case of Directorate of Enforcement, AIRAIR All India Reporter 1994 SC 1775. There is no provision in the Act which excludes the application of Section 193, Cr.P.C. The mere fact that no procedure is prescribed or specified under the Special Act does not mean that the Special Act dispenses with the procedure for committal in the case triable by Court of Sessions and that the Special Court gets original jurisdiction in the matter of initiations, enquiry or trial. There is no good reason why the procedural provisions of Code relating to power and mode of taking cognizance including Section 193 should not be applied to the Special Court”.
22. We are of the considered opinionOpinion A judge's written explanation of a decision of the court. In an appeal, multiple opinions may be written. The court’s ruling comes from a majority of judges and forms the majority opinion. A dissenting opinion disagrees with the majority because of the reasoning and/or the principles of law on which the decision is based. A concurring opinion agrees with the end result of the court but offers further comment possibly because they disagree with how the court reached its conclusion. that the Division Bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court has stated the legal position correctly in the above decision.
23. It must be noted that the observations of this Court in A. R. Antulay, (supra) were made in connection with the establishment of a Special Court under Criminal Amendment Act of 1952. What is to be pointed out is that a Special Judge appointed under the said Act was given the specific power to take cognizance of the offence without the case being committed to him. Hence the observations in A. R. Antuley’s case (supra) cannot be profitably utilized to support the interpretation of another Act wherein there is no such specific provision.
24. It is contextually relevant to notice that Special Courts created under certain other enactments have been specially empowered to take cognizance of the offence without the accused being committed to it for trial, (e.g. Section 36-A (1) (d) of the Narcotics Drugs Psychotropic Substances Act). It is significant that there is no similar provision in the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
25. We therefore, hold that the legal position stated in the decisions of the Kerala High Court in Re Director General of Prosecutions, (1993 Cri LJ 760) and Hareendran v. Sarada, (1995 AIHC 4542), is not in accordance with law. We approve the interpretation adopted by the other High Courts in the decisions referred to above as the correct legal position.
26. So the High Court of Andhra Pradesh has rightly set aside, as per the impugned orderImpugned order Order under challenge, the proceedings initiated by the Special Court specified under the Act. But we do not support the directions given by the learned Single Judge in his order that after committal of the case the Special Court shall frame charge against the appellants. It is for the Special Court to decide regarding the action to be taken next, after hearing both sides as provided in Section 227 of the Code. No direction can be given to the Special Court at this premature stage as to what the Court should adopt then. It is open to the appellants to raise all their contentions at that stage if they wish to make a plea for discharge. We make it clear that if any such plea is made the Judge of the Special Court shall pass appropriate orders untrammeled by the observations made in the impugned order.
27. With the said directions and observations we dispose of this appeal.
Gangula Ashok-AIR 2000 SC 740 : (2000) 1 SCRSupreme Court Reports It is the official Reporter of the reportable decisions delivered by the Supreme Court of India. It is published under the authority of the Supreme Court of India by the Controller of Publications, Government of India. 468 : (2000) 2 SCC 504 : JT 2000 (1) SC 379 : (2000) 1 SCALE 294 : (2000) CriLJ SC 819