Report No. 37
Section 22
For section 22 of the principal Act, substitute the following section, namely:-
"22. Justice of the Peace.- Every State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, in consultation with the High Court, appoint such persons, being citizens of India, as it thinks fit, to be Justices of the Peace within and for the local area mentioned in such notification.
After section 22 of the principal Act, insert the following sections, namely:-
Section 22A (New)
"22A. Power of Justices of Peace.- A Justice of the Peace for any local area shall, for the purpose of making arrest, have within such area all the powers of a police officer referred to in section 54 and of an officer-in-charge of a police-station referred to in section 55.
(2) A Justice of the Peace making an arrest in exercise of any powers under sub-section (1) shall forthwith take or cause to be taken the person arrested before the officer in-charge of the nearest police-station and furnish such officer with a report as to the circumstances of the arrest.
(3) Such officer shall, thereupon, re-arrest the person.
(4) A Justice of the Peace for any local area shall have power, within such area, to call upon any member of the police force on duty or any volunteer to aid him-
(a) in taking or preventing the escape of any person who has participated in the commission of any cognizable offence or against whom a reasonable complaint has been made or credible information has been received or a reasonable suspicion exists of his having so participated;
(b) in the prevention of crime in general and, in particular, in the prevention of a breach of the peace or a disturbance of the public tranquility.
(5) Where a member of the police force on duty or volunteer has been called upon to render aid under sub-section (3), such call shall be deemed to have been made by an authority competent to make the call.
(6) A Justice of the Peace for any local area, not being a legal practitioner, may, in, accordance with such rules as may be made by the State Government,-
(a) issue certificate as to the identity of any person residing within such area, or
(b) verify any document brought before him by any such person, or
(c) attest any such document required by or under any law for the time being in force to be attested by a Magistrate,
and until the contrary is proved, any certificate so issued shall be presumed to be correct and any document so verified shall be deemed to be duly verified and any document so attested shall be deemed to have been as fully attested as if he had been a Magistrate.
Explanation:-In this section, the expression "volunteer" means a volunteer appointed under the West Bengal National Volunteer Force Act, 1949, as in force in the State of West Bengal or a person with similar duties appointed under a similar law in force in any other State.
Section 22B
"22B. Recording of certain statements by justices of Peace.- (1) Subject to such rules as may be made by the State Government, every Justice of the Peace for any local area may, when so requested in writing by a police officer making an investigation under this Code in respect of any offence committed within such local area, record any statement made by a person in respect of whom an offence affecting the human body is believed to have been committed, being a statement relating to the circumstances of the offence or of the transaction which resulted in the offence.
(2) The provisions of sub-section (2) of section 164 relating to the manner of recording statements shall, as far as may be, apply to the recording of a statement under sub-section (1) as if the statements were recorded by a Presidency Magistrate or a Magistrate of the first class.
Section 25
For section 25 of the principal Act, substitute the following section, namely:-
"25. Ex officio Justices of the Peace.- In virtue of their respective offices,-
(a) the Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts are Justices of the Peace within and for the whole of India;
(b) Sessions Judges, Chief Judicial Magistrates and District Magistrates are Justices of the Peace within and for the whole of the territories, administered by the State Government under which they are serving; and
(c) Presidency Magistrates are Justices of the Peace within and for the towns of which they are respectively Magistrates.
Section 29B
For section 29B of the Principal Act, substitute the following section, namely:-
"29B. Jurisdiction in case of Juveniles.- Any offence, other than one punishable with death or imprisonment for life, committed by any person who at the date when he appears or is brought before the Court is under the age of fifteen years may be tried-
(a) by a Chief Presidency Magistrate,
(b) by a Chief Judicial Magistrate, or
(c) by any other Judicial Magistrate specially empowered by the High Court,1 to exercise the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 8 of the Reformatory Schools Act, 1897 (2 of 1897), or
(d) in any area in which the said Act has been wholly or in part repealed by any other law providing for the custody, trial or punishment or youthful offenders, or in which the said Act does not extend and there is in force any other law providing for the custody, trial or punishment of youthful offenders, by any Magistrate empowered by or under such law to exercise all or any of the powers conferred thereby.
1. The mention of "High Court" is on the assumption that section 8(1) of the Reformatory Schools Act, 1897, will also be amended.
Section 30
For section 30 of the principal Act, substitute the following section namely:-
"30. Offence punishable with imprisonment not exceeding seven years.- Notwithstanding anything contained in section 28 or section 29, the High Court may invest any Presidency Magistrate, Chief Judicial Magistrate or Judicial Magistrate of the first class with power to try as a Magistrate all offences not punishable with death or with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment for a term exceeding ten years.
(Proviso omitted.)
Section 36
For section 36 of the principal Act, substitute the following section, namely:-
"36. Ordinary powers of Magistrates.- All District Magistrates, Chief Judicial Magistrates, Sub-divisional Magistrates and Judicial and Executive Magistrates other than Special Judicial Magistrates and Special Executive Magistrates have the powers hereinafter respectively conferred upon them and specified in the third schedule. Such powers are called their 'ordinary powers'.
[Cf. section 36, Punjab]
Section 37
For section 37 of the principal Act, substitute the following section, namely:-
"37. Additional powers conferable on magistrates-In addition to his ordinary powers- (i) the High Court may invest any Judicial Magistrate with any of the powers as specified in Part I of the Fourth Schedule;
(ii) a Chief Judicial Magistrate may invest any other Judicial Magistrate within his local jurisdiction with the powers specified in Part I of the Fourth Schedule;
(iii) the State Government may invest any Executive Magistrate with any of the powers as specified in Part II of the Fourth Schedule; and
(iv) a District Magistrate may invest any Executive Magistrate within his local jurisdiction with the powers specified in Part II of the Fourth Schedule."
[Cf.section 37, Punjab]
Back
