9911796707
TMI Blog1989 (2) TMI 120X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Additional Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Trivandrum). The said case was originally against two persons for the offences under Sections 132 and 135A of the Customs Act. But the second accused was absconding and hence the trial proceeded against the first accused alone. On 5-12-1984, the lower court pronounced judgment acquitting the first accused (he will be referred to as the respondent). Th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nder certain Central Acts. One of the Central Acts enumerated in the notification is the Customs Act, 1962. As per proviso to Section 11(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (for short 'the Code') on the establishment of such special court "no other court of magistrate in the local area shall have jurisdiction to try any case or class of cases for the trial of which such special court of Judicial ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of trial and hence the lower court has not acted without jurisdiction. By the proviso to Section 11(1) of the Code, Jurisdiction of ordinary Magistrate courts to try such cases has been taken away. Any step other than trial can be adopted by the ordinary Magistrate's Court in such cases, according to the Counsel. 4. The word "trial" is not defined in the Code. But the word "enquiry" is defined. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... referring to different provisions of the Code the Supreme Court has held in V.C. Sukla v. State (AIR 1980 S.C. 962) that there is no question of starting the trial until charge is framed. What is the terminal point of trial, if its starting point is the framing of charge? All steps which a Criminal Court adopt subsequent to the framing of charge and until the pronouncement of judgment can be treat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... diction in hearing arguments and pronouncing the judgment. Accordingly, I quash all the steps taken by the lower court from 29-11-1984 onwards in this case. The case is remitted to the special court (Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court, Ernakulam) for Economic Offences where the case will proceed from the stage when it ended on 22-11-1984 (the previous posting date immediately prior to ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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