- (1.) This criminal appeal, by special leave, involves the question Whether a Subordinate Criminal Court has any inherent jurisdiction outside the provisions of the Criminal P.C. Incidentally, the scope of Art. 141 of the Constitution also comes up for consideration.
(2.) The facts of the case can be stated first. The appellants, two in number, are the accused in a complaint filed by the first respondent in the Court of the Judicial Magistrate, First Class, New Delhi, disclosing an offence punishable under Ss. 67 and 72C(1)(a) of the Mines Act, 1952, read with Regulation 106 of the Metalliferous Mines Regulation, 1961. The learned Magistrate took the complaint on file and issued summons to the accused to appear on 6-1-1972. On 6-1-1972 neither the complainant nor the accused were present and, therefore, the Magistrate passed the following order : "Accused not present. None present for the complainant also. The complaint is hereby dismissed in default and for want of prosecution." On 13-1-1972, the complainant filed an application for restoration of the complaint. On 20-1-1972, the Magistrate passed the following order: "I heard Shri T. S. Sodhi. The complaint be restored. Summon accused for 21/2." On 21-2-1972, the accused petitioners moved an application before the Magistrate stating that the order dated 20-1-1972 was without jurisdiction since the Magistrate had become functus officio, by his order dated 6-1-1972. This application was rejected by the Magistrate by his order dated 8-5-1972. He was of the view that he had inherent powers under the Criminal P.C. to review and re-call his earlier orders.
(3.) Aggrieved by this order, the petitioners filed a revision before the Court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, New Delhi, which was dismissed on 6-7-1973.;