Maniruddin and Others vs Emperor

Foster, J.—In my opinion the order refusing bail and committing the applicants to custody is defective. Section 114 provides that, whenever it appears to the Magistrate upon the report of a Police Officer or upon other information (the substance of which report or information shall be recorded by the Magistrate), that there is reason to fear the commission of a breach of the peace, and that such breach of the peace cannot be prevented otherwise than by immediate arrest of such person, the Magistrate may at any time issue a warrant for his arrest. There are two stringent elements in these provisions which are obviously directed against any ill-considered precipitancy on the part of the Magistrate. The Magistrate muse be of opinion that the only way of preventing an imminent breach of the peace is to commit the persons to custody and the Magistrate must put on record the substance of the Police or other report by which he is influenced. The latter provision is, in my opinion, intended as a safeguard with a view to the protection of persons whose liberty is affected by such order and who may have resort to the Superior Court u/s 498 of the Criminal Procedure Code, or any other provision of the Code. Now, the Magistrate''s order cannot, in any sense, in my opinion, be regarded as a record of the substance of n report. It is not stated who has reported or what in particular has been stated in the report. Looking at the Police report which is on the record, I see that the Sub-Inspector after stating the grounds for proceeding u/s 107 against these applicants merely recommended that the proceedings should be instituted and made no special prayer for their immediate arrest. It is clear, that the Magistrate did not proceed upon any information to the effect that the arrest of these persons was the only way to prevent an imminent breach of the peace. As a matter of fact, these persons have now been at large for 15 days and nothing has happened. I am, therefore, of opinion that the order committing these persons to custody is not justified and I direct that they be admitted to bail of the same amount; as that already taken from them.