Prima facie case test governs discharge at charge stage; probative value cannot be weighed and charges may proceed.

At the stage of discharge or framing of charge, the Court must examine only whether the materials disclose a prima facie case or ground for presuming commission of the offence, without assessing their probative value. In a prosecution under the Customs Act, discharge under Section 245 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is available only where no case is made out on the evidence under Section 244 or the charge is groundless. Applying that test, the accused was not entitled to discharge because sufficient material existed to frame charges.

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Issues: Whether the accused was entitled to discharge under Section 245 of the Code of Criminal Procedure at the stage of framing charges in a prosecution under the Customs Act.

Analysis: Discharge under Section 245 is warranted only when, upon the evidence under Section 244, the Magistrate finds that no case has been made out which, if unrebutted, would warrant conviction, or where the charge is groundless. At the stage of framing charges, the Court must only examine whether the materials disclose a prima facie case and whether there is ground for presuming that the accused may have committed the offence. The probative value of the evidence cannot be assessed at that stage, and the accused cannot be discharged merely because the defence disputes the prosecution case.

Conclusion: The petitioner was not entitled to discharge, as sufficient material existed for framing charges.

Ratio Decidendi: At the stage of discharge or framing of charge, the Court must see only whether the materials disclose a prima facie case or ground for presuming commission of the offence, without weighing their probative value.

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