Special leave in criminal procedure granted where conflicting High Court views required authoritative settlement of the law.

Special leave to appeal in a criminal matter may be granted only in exceptional circumstances, and the Privy Council treated a conflict of opinion among High Courts on an important criminal procedure question as sufficient justification. The Board noted that the provision of the Criminal Procedure Code was of vital importance to accused persons and that authoritative resolution was needed to settle the law for the future. Special leave was therefore granted because the divergence in High Court views created an exceptional case for intervention.

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Issues: Whether special leave to appeal in a criminal case could be granted in exceptional circumstances where there was a conflict of opinion among the High Courts on an important question of criminal procedure.

Analysis: The order states that the Board ordinarily does not entertain criminal appeals and will advise special leave only in the most exceptional circumstances. It further records that a section of the Criminal Procedure Code of vital importance to accused persons had given rise to a difference of opinion among the High Courts of India, and that the divergence should be resolved authoritatively so that the law would be settled for the future.

Outcome: Special leave to appeal was granted because the case presented exceptional circumstances arising from conflicting High Court views on an important criminal procedural question.

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