- (1.) THE applicants were convicted of offences under Sections 447 and 323, Penal Code, by the panchayati Adalat, Village Para, Police Station Kotwali, District Ghazipur, and were sentenced to pay a fine of Rs. 15/- and Rs. 5/- under the two sections respectively. This order is dated 29-10-1952. The applicants filed a revision in the Court of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate Sadar, ghazipur, which was dismissed by him on 6-7-1953. This writ petition has been moved under article 226 of the Constitution and the only point raised is that Chapter VI of the U. P. Panchayat Raj Act (XXVI of 1947) is 'ultra vires' being in conflict with the provisions of Article 14 of the Constitution.
(2.) THE offences mentioned in Section 52 of the Act are exclusively triable by Panchayati adalats. Section 54 provides for penalties which the Panchayati Adalat can impose. Section 55 bars the cognizance of any case or suit which is cognizable under the Act by a Panchayati Adalat unless an order has been passed by a Sub-Divisional Magistrate or Munsif under Section 85. Section 56 provides that "if at any stage of proceedings in a criminal case pending before a magistrate it appears that the case is triable by a Panchayati Adalat, he shall at once transfer the case to that Panchayati adalat, which shall try the case 'de novo'. " Section 58 provides for return of complaint to the complainant by a Panchayati Adalat where it finds that it has no jurisdiction, or the offence is one for which it cannot award adequate punishment, or the case is of such nature or complexity that it should be tried by a regular Court. Section 59 bars the cognizance by the Panchayati Adalat of any offence in which the accused belongs to one of the categories mentioned in Clause (a) to (e ). Section 85 then provides that if a sub-Divisional Magistrate or a Munsif or a Sub-Divisional Officer finds that there is apprehension of miscarriage of justice if a case, suit or proceeding is tried by a Panchayati adalat, it shall cancel the jurisdiction of that Adalat and in such a case under Sub-sections (2), (3) and (4) of Section 85 the case, suit or proceeding will have to be instituted in a regular Court having jurisdiction.
(3.) LEARNED counsel has urged that this amounts to discrimination. He has argued that if a sub-Divisional Magistrate, Munsif or Sub-Divisional Officer had been given the power under section 85 to transfer the case to the Court of another Panchayati Adalat, he would raise no objection to the validity of the provision, taut inasmuch as for the same type of offence triable by a Panchayati Adalat, if on the ground that there is apprehension of miscarriage of justice the jurisdiction of the Panchayati Adalat is cancelled and the case has to be tried under the ordinary law in the regular Courts having jurisdiction, that procedure being more elaborate amounts to discrimination under Article 14 of the Constitution.;