Report No. 43

7.110. Section 14.-

Section 14 provides for exclusion of the public from proceedings of the Court in prosecutions under the Act. A judicial decision on the section may be referred to. In a Calcutta case1, an order had already been passed under section 14 excluding the public from the Court room. The question fell to be considered whether the granting of copies of documents, under section 173, Cr. P.C. would be in conflict with the order under section 14. The Magistrate passed a general and vague order granting copies as a matter of course, in respect of documents as found in his order.

But the High Court held that such general order of granting or refusing would not be proper in the instant case. The general rule will be that the opposite parties are entitled to such copies, but in respect of each individual copy paid for, the Magistrate has to consider and apply his mind to come to a finding whether the grant of the copy would affect his own order under section 14. If there is no such conflict, then the copies may be granted; but if there is conflict, then the copies cannot be and should not be granted.

1. Superintendent & Remembrancer of Legal Affairs, West Bengal v. Satyen Bhowmik, AIR 1960 Cal 535.