In Re: Vempati Satyanarayana Sastri

Kuppuswami Ayyar, J.—The petitioner filed a petition before the Joint Magistrate of Chandragiri complaining that the counter-petitioners

and their party had no right to recite Sankalpam at the tank at the Thirumalai hills at Tirupathi and that there was a likelihood of a breach of the

peace. Instead of taking evidence and going into the matter the Joint Magistrate directed the police to warn the counter-petitioners not to create a

breach of the peace by reciting such Sankalpams. The matter was taken in revision to the learned Sessions Judge of Chittoor and he set aside the

order of warning.

I am not able to see what jurisdiction the first Court had to issue such a warning without taking evidence and deciding whether such a right was

there or not. Nor has the learned Sessions Judge any jurisdiction to sit in revision over such an order and pass an order himself. If the order of the

joint Magistrate was wrong, then the Sessions Judge should have written to this Court and asked this Court to interfere. Instead of doing that he

has himself set aside the order. This is therefore a case in which both the Courts had no right to pass the orders which they purported to pass.

Without taking evidence the joint Magistrate was not justified in asking the police to warn the counter-petitioners. In these circumstances both the

orders of the learned Sessions Judge and the Joint Magistrate are set aside.