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TMI Blog2003 (7) TMI 645X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r dated 26-4-2003 by conveniently taking the shelter under the judgment of this Court delivered in Mohd. Hashim Masood v. State, 2000 (1) JCC 24 as if he was bound by the view taken by the High Court and not by the Supreme Court on the proposition of law whether the accused is entitled to move the Magistrate for dropping the proceedings in a complaint case even after the process of summon has been issued against him. 2. Facts germane for the proposition of law are like this :- M/s. SBI Capital Markets Ltd. filed a complaint under Section 138 of Negotiable Instrument Act against M/s. Prakash Industries Ltd & Ors its Managing Director, Vice President (General) and two General Managers. They were summoned as accused vide order dated 9-7-99 b ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... disclose any offence against the accused." 3. After taking notice of this judgment the learned ASJ referred to Nilamani Routray v. Bennel Coleman and Company Ltd., 1998 (8) SCC 594 a case that came up before the Hon'ble Supreme Court on the question of power of trial court in this regard. Learned ASJ has referred to the following observations of the Supreme Court :- "It has been contended on behalf of the appellant that K.M. Mathew Case requires reconsideration for it is settled law that a power of review has to be conferred by law specifically or by necessary implication and the Code of Criminal Procedure does not confer such power. Since we find that there is some substances in the above contention it is desirable that the matter be hea ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... a Larger Bench does not and cannot take away the binding effect of the earlier decision of the Supreme Court. 6. It is not that the learned ASJ did not know or was not conscious of this principle. He did refer to Article 141 of the Constitution of India providing that the law declared by Supreme Court shall be binding on all courts within the territory of India and learned ASJ even observed that a law laid down by Supreme Court cannot be assailed on the ground that certain aspects were not considered by or that the judgment suffers from any infirmity by not giving proper reasons or over ruling earlier decision. Thus it is not the case where learned ASJ was brewed with confusion. 7. Learned ASJ consciously ignored the verdict of the Suprem ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... down by the Supreme Court is binding on all the Courts below it including the High Courts and if any High Court has laid down a law contrary to that of the Supreme Court, law laid down by the Supreme Court alone is binding, still he sidetracked it by clutching a flimsy straw that judicial discipline requires him to follow the judgment of his own High Court. Such an approach is not only an act of judicial indiscipline but verges on contempt of Court also. 10. Let us see how the facts and circumstances of the case before the learned ASJ were different than the facts in K.M. Mathew's case. In the instant case, summons were issued by the Court after recording the pre-summoning evidence on a complaint filed under Section 138 of Negotiable Inst ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... mmons case the Magistrate after taking cognizance of the offence and issuing process has no jurisdiction to drop the proceedings against the accused. This view of the High Court did not find favour with the Supreme Court. Supreme Court held that the order issuing the process is an interim order and not a judgment and therefore the order issuing the process can be varied and recalled and the fact that the process has already been issued is no bar to drop the proceedings if the complaint on the very face of it does not disclose any offence against the accused. 13. It is beyond even wildest imagination and comprehension that the facts and the question of law involved in the instant case are in any way different than those of K.M. Mathews case ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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