Special Judge as Magistrate for remand powers under criminal procedure, allowing police custody detention during investigation.

A Special Judge under the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 1952 is treated as a Magistrate for the purposes of Section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure because the special Act is not a complete procedural code and does not exclude the Code's investigation and remand scheme. The Act confers Magistrate-like powers only to the extent specified, and the general procedural provisions continue to apply where consistent. On that basis, the Special Judge may authorise detention in police custody, ensuring that remand powers remain available for effective investigation.

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Issues: Whether a Special Judge under the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 1952 can exercise the power of a Magistrate under Section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to authorise detention of an accused in police custody.

Analysis: The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 1952 is an amending statute and does not constitute a complete code on procedure. Its provisions show that a Special Judge is conferred certain powers of a Magistrate for specified purposes and is deemed to be a Court of Session or a Magistrate only to the extent the Act so provides. Section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is part of the investigation and remand scheme, and the general procedural provisions of the Code continue to apply unless inconsistent with the special Act. Reading the special Act with the definition of Magistrate in the General Clauses Act, and having regard to the need to avoid an anomalous situation in which no authority could grant or extend remand, the Special Judge must be treated as a Magistrate having jurisdiction for the purposes of Section 167. The decision relied upon by the High Court concerned a different provision and did not govern the present question.

Conclusion: A Special Judge is a Magistrate empowered to act under Section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and may authorise detention in police custody.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a special statute confers trial powers on a Special Judge but does not exclude the procedural scheme of the Code, the Special Judge is treated as a Magistrate for those procedural powers that are necessary for effective investigation and are not inconsistent with the special statute.

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