Legal Provisions of Section 322 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Cr.P.C.), India.
Procedure in cases which Magistrate cannot dispose of:
The section provides the procedure to be followed by the Magistrate in course of any inquiry or trial when he is of opinion that the offence committed is one which he is not competent to try or is otherwise competent to deal with.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
In such cases the Magistrate is bound to stay the proceedings and submit the case with a brief report explaining its nature to the Chief Judicial Magistrate or to such other Magistrate having jurisdiction, as the Chief Judicial Magistrate may direct.
The Magistrate to whom the case is forwarded may if so empowered, either try the case himself or refer it to a Magistrate subordinate to him having jurisdiction or commit the accused for trial.
The High Court of Bombay has held that a Magistrate though competent to try the case himself, may transfer it to the Chief Judicial Magistrate keeping in view the seriousness of the offence and its public repercussion.
Thus in Baba Abdul Khan v. A. D. Sawant, a robbery case which a Judicial Magistrate first class could try himself was transferred to the Chief Judicial Magistrate in view of the public importance of the case requiring adequate sentence. The High Court held the transfer as proper, legal and perfectly justified.
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