TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2015 (1) TMI 978
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.... regular bail under Section 439 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (in short, Cr. P.C.). By impugning the said order, the present revision is filed seeking to cancel the bail order including on the contention that the learned Sessions Judge has no jurisdiction in granting the bail. 4. Heard both sides. 5. The contentions in support of the averments in application impugning the bail order in seeking for its cancellation are that, the learned Special Judge for Trial of Economic Offences-cum-VIII Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge, Nampally (designated as Special Court) once dismissed the application for bail, in Criminal Petition No. 905 of 2014, on 27-3-2014; the learned Metropolitan Sessions Judge could not entertain another bail application, much less, by sitting against to grant the bail covered by the impugned order in Crl. P.M.P. No. 1464 of 2014, dated 23-4-2014 and hence the said order is liable to be set aside, more particularly, for want of jurisdiction. The other contentions are that granting of the bail only by imposing a condition of bond of Rs. 10,000/- each to the satisfaction of Special Judge for Trial of Economic Offences-cum-VIII Additional Metr....
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....atrix which reads as follows : (a) On 20-3-2014, at 3.20 hours, a passenger by name Kannur Abdul Khader Mohammed Haneefa, holder of Indian Passport No. F0148775 (hereinafter referred to the respondent-accused), who arrived by flight No. QR 500 from Doha to Hyderabad was intercepted by the officers of Customs (Air Intelligence Unit), Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Shamshabad, Hyderabad in the arrival hall at the Exit Gate after he has passed through the Green Channel, without making any true declaration on disembarkation slip on reasonable belief that he was carrying contraband goods. On examination of the disembarkation slip, it was noticed that he was carrying one hand bag and one checked in baggage and he has not declared any dutiable goods. When the officers questioned the respondent-accused whether he was carrying any dutiable goods either in the baggage or checked in bag, the respondent-accused replied in negative. Then, screening of the hand bag and checked in bag on the screening machine available in the customs arrival hall, the officers noticed a dark and suspicious metal object image in addition to his used clothes and personal effects in h....
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....stoms Act, 1962, thus seized the same along with other documents, under the Mahazar, dated 20-3-2014. (c) The respondent-accused, Sri Kannur Abdulkhader Mohammed Haneefa in his statement, dated 20-3-2014 given before the Superintendent of Customs (Air Intelligence Unit), Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Shamshabad, Hyderabad, under Section 108 of Customs Act, 1962, stated that he is a taxi driver. He further stated that the said 16 Gold bars weighing 1.866 kgs, were received by him in Doha for handing over to another person in his village. He further admitted in the presence of the witnesses that he has not mentioned about the gold in the disembarkation slip to avoid detection by Customs Department and to evade payment of Customs duty. (d) Thereupon the officers in the presence of the independent witnesses and the respondent-accused seized the contraband following the due process of law as envisaged under the Customs Act, 1962. It is averred that the accused confessed to have procured, possessed & transported having entered into the criminal conspiracy for smuggling of the contraband. The respondent-accused was arrested and produce....
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....(45 of 1860) shall be investigated, inquired into, tried, and otherwise dealt with according to the provisions hereinafter contained. (2) All offences under any other law shall be investigated, inquired into, tried, and otherwise dealt with according to the same provisions, but subject to any enactment for the time being in force regulating the manner or place of investigating, inquiring into, trying or otherwise dealing with such offences. From the above, it is clear that the Criminal Procedure Code on the adjectival and procedural provisions, equally apply not only for the Indian Penal Code offences, but also for other offences; leave about even in investigating, inquiring or trying into I.P.C. offences and other offences together, but for to the extent saved by the said provisions of any other law to prevail, to say the Cr. P.C. provisions are in that area, general law to the extent special provisions covered those prevail and in the other areas the Cr. P.C. to apply. 11(b) As per Section 6 of Cr. P.C. 6. Classes of Criminal Courts : Besides the High Courts and the Courts constituted under any law, other than this Code, there shall be, in every State, ....
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.... of Assistant Sessions Judges. (1) All Assistant Sessions Judges shall be subordinate to the Sessions Judge in whose Court they exercise jurisdiction. (2) The Sessions Judge may, from time to time, make rules consistent with this Code, as to the distribution of business among such Assistant Sessions Judges. (3) The Sessions Judge may also make provision for the disposal of any urgent application, in the event of his absence or inability to act, by an Additional or Assistant Sessions Judge, or, if there be no Additional or Assistant Sessions Judge, by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, and every such Judge or Magistrate shall be deemed to have jurisdiction to deal with any such application. As per Section 11 of Cr. P.C., - 11. Courts of Judicial Magistrates. (1) In every district (not being a metropolitan area), there shall be established as many Courts of Judicial Magistrates of the first class and of the second class, and at such places, as the State Government may, after consultation with the High Court, by notification, specify. Provided that the State Government may, after consultation with the High Court, establish, for any local area....
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....etropolitan Sessions Division thereby includes Metropolitan Sessions Judge, Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge and Chief Judicial Metropolitan Magistrates and Metropolitan Magistrates as the case may be which are part of the Division, from the combined reading of Sections 6 & 9 to 12 Cr. P.C. 12. As per the above provisions, the Special Judge for Trial of Economic Offences, at Nampally, in Hyderabad constituted (for the erstwhile State of A.P. in its entirety), by conferring jurisdiction. Now, from the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganization Act, 2014, which came into force with effect from 2-6-2014, needless to say it requires re-designation of two Courts for the two States i.e. one the existing Special Court lying in the area of State of Telangana and the other in any Metropolitan units of the State of Andhra Pradesh like in Visakhapatnam or Vijayawada or the like; as the State is divided into two States after formation of new State of Telangana for the Telangana Region and for the other regions of Rayalaseema and Andhra remains as the State of Andhra Pradesh. 13. In this regard, it is also important to refer the provisions of Section 19 of the Cr. P.C., Subord....
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....ad to deal with the trial of Economic Offences under the specified Central Acts - Amendment to notification issued; the references made thereunder were G.O. Ms. No. 202, Home (Courts-A) Department, dated 27-3-1980, G.O. Rt. No. 1967, Home (Courts-A) Department, dated 4-8-1980, proceedings from the Registrar, High Court, Lr. No. 2220/E1/80, dated 29-12-1980 and another letter No. 4324/E1/80, dated 7-2-1981. It therefrom reads as follows : "Notification In exercise of the powers conferred by the proviso to sub-section (1) of Section 11 read with clause (J) of Section 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974) and after consultation with the High Court of Andhra Pradesh and in supersession of the Notification issued by the Government of Andhra Pradesh in G.O. Rt. No. 1967. Home (Courts-A) Department, dated 4th August, 1980, the Governor of Andhra Pradesh hereby : (1) Specifies the whole of the State of Andhra Pradesh as the local area for the purpose of establishing a special Court for the offences arising under the enactments mentioned in the Annexure hereto; and (2) Establishes a Special Court of Judi....
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....aid Court shall be known, as the Court of the Special Judge for Economic Offences. 16. No doubt, a reading of the above show the notification is in establishing the Special Court of Judicial Magistrate of First Class to try the cases whereas at the heading for creation of the Special Judge's Court in the Cadre of District and Sessions Judge and it is not even indicating two Courts constituted one of the Sessions Judge cadre and the other of the Judicial Magistrate of the First Class cadre (for want of any committal procedure under any of the enactments within the purview of Sections 190, 209 & 193 of Cr. P.C.), but for instead of from the above of the Special Judge of the cadre of the Sessions Judge is also can exercise the powers of a Magistrate. 17. It is only the Government Order (supra) as on the date prevailing. In this regard and pursuant to which the High Court of Andhra Pradesh in Roc. No. 1348/SO/1991, dated 21-10-1991, issued Circular instructions on the subject of entertaining the bail applications in the matters pertaining to the Economic Offences by giving instructions which reads as under : "It has been brought to the notice of the High Court that b....
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....dhra Pradesh, has been excluded and the Special Judge for Economic Offences alone is competent to consider any application for bail in income-tax matters, etc., pending (investigation/enquiry/trial) before the Court of Special Judge for the Economic Offences, Hyderabad. It is, in this context, important to refer the Hon'ble Single Judge's expression of this Court in Crl. M.P. Nos. 1188 and 1189 of 1986, dated 23-3-1987 reported as Superintendent, Customs and Central Excise, Range-II, Nellore Division, Nellore v. Elukala Krishnamachari and Others - 1987 (32) E.L.T. 324 (A.P.). The Court referred Section 11(1) and Clause (J) of Section 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure with regard to the constitution of Special Courts and its ambit pursuant to the recommendations of the Law Commission in its 47th report, the Central Government since moved the State Government for setting up of a Special Court in the State of Andhra Pradesh for dealing with economic offences. The State Government after consultation with the High Court established the Special Court for economic offences at Hyderabad to deal with 12 specified Central Acts. As the maximum punishment that can be imposed being seven year....
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....e and as such the Sessions Judge should not have entertained the application for bail (also when it was brought to his notice that the II Additional Judicial I Class Magistrate, Nellore dismissed the applications with an observation that the Special Judge for Economic Offences alone has got jurisdiction to the cases). As such the Special Judge for Economic Offences alone is the competent to consider the bail application for grant of bail and the bail granted by the learned Sessions Judge is liable to be cancelled is the conclusion, by referring some of the earlier expressions of this Court reported in viz., Ishwar Chand v. State - 1976 (1) Crl L.J. page 386, Kuppu Naidu v. State of A.P. - 1985 (3) (AP) Crl. L.J. Short notes 15 and Gulam Mohd. v. State - 1959 Madhya Pradesh 147. 19. Thus the cloud is cleared pursuant to G.O. Rt. No. 734, dated 13-3-1981 and from the expression of the High Court and the later circular instructions of this Court by referring to said earlier circular in ROC. No. 1348/SO/1991, dated 21-10-1991. 20. It is even later, there is another expression of the Division Bench of this (High) Court headed by the then Hon'ble the Chief Justice of A....
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....l Magistrate or Chief Metropolitan Magistrate and the Judicial First Class Magistrate and the Metropolitan Magistrates, etc., and concluded ultimately at para 13 that there is no manner of doubt that the Special Court, although called the Special Court of Judicial Magistrate of First Class, is also a Court of Session, and as the Court of Session has all the powers to act under various provisions of Chapter XXXIII of the Code of Criminal Procedure including for entertaining the applications for anticipatory bail under Section 438 of Code of Criminal Procedure. Once the Special Court has the jurisdiction in the matters as above, it would be creating conflict of jurisdiction if in addition to a Court of Session which is specially designated for such matters the regular Court of Session also is recognised as one empowered to grant bail under Cr.P.C. It will be, in our view, not legitimate only to retain the jurisdiction of the Special Court of Economic Offences for all purposes, other than the grant of anticipatory bail and recognise such power of granting anticipatory bail in the Sessions Court of the district in which the offence is allegedly committed of which the Court has otherwis....
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..... 1028, dated 8-5-2013 as the "Special Court" for trial of Offences in respect of all the cases connected with M/s. Satyam Computer Services (SCSL) under Section 9 of Cr.P.C. and G.O. Ms. No. 34, Law (LA & J Home Courts C) Department, dated 2-4-2013. It is in fact, the [Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002] not specifically covered in the G.O. Rt. No. 734 among the annexure-12 enactments; apart from the same confined to that particular case under trial and not a general conferment of the Special Jurisdiction under the enactment even and thereby, nothing more is required to be discussed with reference to the said proceeding, which is only the existing Court for the limited purpose to deal with the scope of the Act in relation to the crime covered by the Act and other offences that is dealing by a particular court for the purpose of its empowering adjudication of the lis efficaciously, touching the offence covered by the provisions of that Act also. It is also need less to say, but for in the context from a little relevancy that, all the District and Sessions Judges in the State and the Metropolitan Sessions Judges equally, in particular, under Section 11(2) of Cr.P.C. are appoin....
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....ge from the general notification in Roc. No. 25/SO/74, dated 14-8-1974 that was issued under Section 9 of Code of Criminal Procedure, and further by G.O. Ms. No. 518, dated 29-10-1987, the II Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge of the Metropolitan Sessions Court, Hyderabad is appointed as Additional Judge to exercise jurisdiction of the designated Court constituted for Metropolitan Sessions Division for the offence under TADA Act, 1987 and the said composite notification no way invalid and those are held suffice. There is another circular instruction of the High Court in ROC. No. 510/SO-1/2002, dated 2-9-2002, which is as per the Hon'ble Apex Court direction in giving clarifications that the designated the then Additional District Judge as chief Judicial Magistrates (as per the circular instructions referred supra), by virtue of the directions of the Hon'ble Apex Court, the designation of the Senior Civil Judge cum-Assistant Sessions Judges as Chief Judicial Magistrates and the Chief Metropolitan Magistrates and also with reference to the understanding of the same in its referring to the Criminal Rules of Practice and the Circulars orders of 1990, in saying amendment to the rele....
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....till being designated the existing Court if for the State of Telangana afresh, the case relating to the economic offences cannot be tried by the economic offences Court at Hyderabad is untenable for the aforesaid reasons. Hence and subject to that, it is even left open to raise the lis in appropriate forum with appropriate contention, but for to observe that the authorities concerned may take care of, if any such notification requires to have separate notification for the State of Andhra Pradesh and for the State of Telangana and it is made clear to avoid any future confusion till such separate notification being given, the existing notification and the jurisdiction holds good conferring jurisdiction on the economic offences Court at Hyderabad for the entire State of Andhra Pradesh that existing as on the date of bifurcation and before to continue. The above conclusion draws support from expression of Lord Denning Quoted in Landmarks in the Law (Butterworths) at page 62; from Christopher St. Germans doctor & Student Chapter XVI Page 45 as the following : "Judges should not go by the letter by the intendment of the Statute in giving interpretation, by doing what the makers of sta....