AIR 1980 SUPREME COURT 1510 ::1980 Cri App R (SC) 219 ::(1980) AllCriC 201 ::1980 SCC(Cri) 757 ::1980 (3) SCC 435 ::1980 ChandCriC 127 (SC)

Supreme Court Of India

Hon'ble Judge(s): V. R. Krishna Iyer, O. Chinnappa Reddy , JJ

(A) Criminal P.C. (2 of 1974) , S.321, S.209— Consent for withdrawal from prosecution - Committing Magistrate is competent to give such consent. 1976 Andh LT 317, Overruled. Notwithstanding the fact that the offences for which the accused persons were to be tried were exclusively triable by a Court of Session, the Committing Magistrate had jurisdiction to give consent to the Public Prosecutor to withdraw from the prosecution. There is no warrant for thinking that only the Court competent to discharge or acquit the accused under some other provisions of the Code can exercise the power under S. 321, Criminal Procedure Code. The power conferred by S. 321 is itself a special power conferred on the Court before whom a prosecution is pending and the exercise of the power is not made dependent upon the power of the Court to acquit or discharge the accused under some other provision of the Code. The power to discharge or acquit the accused under S. 321 is a special power founded on S. 321 itself, to be exercised by the Court independently of its power of enquiry into the offence or to try the accused. Again, the expression "judgment" in the context may be understood to mean the judgment which may be ultimately pronounced if the case were to be committed to a Court of Session.(Para 7) It may not be accurate....