ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT

                                                   Ram Bishal

                                                        Vs.

                                                State (Allahabad)

                                       Criminal Revn. No. 25 of 1951

                                              (Harish Chandra, J.)

                                                   03.01.1951

                                                  JUDGMENT

Harish Chandra, J.

1. This was a case against the applicants under Sections 143, 447 and 506, Penal Code and was
tried by a Magistrate of the first class. The contention is that the offences under Sections 447 and.
506, Penal Code being offences cognizable by a Panchayati Adalat under Section 52, Panchayat
Raj Act, 3947 (U. P. Act XXVI (26) of 1947) they could not have been tried by the Magistrate
and that therefore the trial of the applicants under those sections was illegal. No doubt Section 52
specifies certain offences as being cognisable by a Panchayati Adalat. Section 55, however, runs
as follows :

        "No Court shall take cognisance of any ease 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."

It will be noticed that the section does not prohibit the taking of cognisance of any offence which
may be cognizable by a Panchayati Adalat under Section 52 by any other Court unless the case
itself is cognizable by a Panchayati Adalat. In the present case an offence under Section 148,
Penal Code was also included and that was not cognizable by a Panchayati Adalat and it cannot
therefore be said that the case was cognizable by a Panchayati Adalat The mere fact that two of
the offences involved in the case were cognizable by a Panchayati Adalat does not bring Section
55 into play. It is pointed out that there is no prohibition in the Code of Criminal Procedure
against an accused person being tried separately on charges which could under certain provisions
of the Code be tried together. This is no doubt true. But the law provides for the joint trial of
accused persons, for certain offences and a joint trial of the applicants under the different sections
above was perfectly in accordance with law. In the circumstances it cannot be said that the case
was cognizable by a Panchayati Adalat. In my view the trial of the case by a Magistrate of the
first class was not illegal.

2. The application is accordingly rejected.
Revision dismissed.