Ram Chandra Singh and others vs Baldeo Singh

Fazl Ali, J.—The only point raised in this case is that the Union Board of Naini has acted beyond its jurisdiction in trying this case. It appears that the opposite party preferred a complaint before a Magistrate charging the petitioners with an offence under S. 323, I. P. C. The Magistrate under S. 53 (2), Bihar and Orissa Village Administration Act, 1922, transferred the complaint to the Union Board. The accused were then summoned, whereupon as is stated in para. 4 of this petition, they filed a petition under S. 68 of the Act, praying that the case be retransferred to the proper Court at Chapra. The Union Board, however, rejected this petition and proceeded with the trial, and ultimately convicted the petitioners and sentenced petitioners Nos. 1 and 2 to pay a fine of Rs. 5 each and the remaining three petitioners to pay a fine of Rs. 9 each. The petitioners thereupon moved the District Magistrate against their conviction and sentence, but the learned District Magistrate rejected their application on the ground that he was unable to interfere with the conviction unless there was a failure of justice, and in his view there was no failure of justice, in the present case. The petitioners thereupon filed this petition for revision in this Court. S. 68 of the Act provides that :

If the accused appears and claims to be tried by a Magistrate, the panchayat shall direct the complainant to file a complaint before the proper Court, Now, what is stated in para. 4 of the petition is that the petitioners prayed before the Union Board that the case be re-transferred to the proper Court at Chapra. 8. 68 does not empower the Union Board to re-transfer a case to the Court of a Magistrate but it only empowers it to direct the complainant to file a complaint before the proper Court. In the present case the complaint had already been filed before the Magistrate and so the procedure to be followed by the petitioners was to move the District Magistrate or the Sub-Divisional Magistrate under S. 53 (2) (b) of the Act,'' which provides that the District Magistrate or Sub-Divisional Magistrate may transfer any case from one panchayat to another or to any other Court subordinate to him.

In my opinion no case has been made out for interfering with the order passed by the panchayat, and the application is therefore rejected.

Application rejected.