Law: Criminal Procedure Code (V of 1898)

Section: 209

Criminal Procedure Code (V of 1898), S. 209-Commitment to Sessions Court-Inquiry Magistrate not to decide questions of fact and law at issue between parties-Magistrate should commit accused to trial and such issues to be decided only by Sessions Court. Date of hearing : 16th March 1970. JUDGMENT Bashir Ahmad wars accused of having committed culpable homicide not amounting to murder under section 304, P. P. C. by firing at Ayaz Shah, as a result of which he died and also for firing at Manzoor Hussain P. W. with such intention or knowledge that if he had died by his act he would have been guilty of culpable, homicide not amounting to murder, on the 25th of January 1966, at 11-30 a.m. in the area of village Kala Gujran, District Jhelum. The Additional District Magis trate, Jhelum, tried and convicted him under section 304(11), P. P. C., and sentenced him R. I. for four years. He also held him guilty under section 308, P. P. C. and sentenced him R. I. for two years. Both the sentences were ordered to run concurrently. The convict appeals against his convictions and sentences through Kh. Sarfraz Ahmad, Advocate. The appeal was admitted to hearing on the 19th of July 1967, by Mr. Justice S. A. Mahmood (as he then was). 2. On the 13th of June 1968, the appeal came up for hearing before my learned brother My A. Zullah, J., who after reading the judgment of the trial Magistrate dated the 19th of June 1967, made the following observations:- (i) that the learned Magistrate disbelieved the defence version of total denial in this case ; (ii) that the learned Magistrate did not allow the benefit of accidental firing to the appellant. In fact, the argument advanced in favour of the appellant in respect of a sentence appearing in the F. I. R. to that effect, was repelled by the learned Magistrate by his observation that that portion of F. I. R." was not put to Manzoor Hussain in cross-examination. Therefore, he did not consider it proper to give any benefit of that aspect of the case to the appellant; (iii) that the learned Magistrate believed the eye-witnesses whose version at the trial was that the appellant `had aimed at them and they had requested him not to fire but…