Law:

Section:

(a) Criminal Procedure Code (V of 1898), Ss. 209 & 210­ Commitment-When, and when not, to be made-Magistrate may appreciate evidence for finding that there are sufficient grounds for making accused stand a trial and not to decide about guilt­ Test-Accused to be committed if there is even a possibility of conviction. The preliminary enquiry is obviously intended to prevent false and frivolous cases occupying the time of the Sessions Court and innocent persons being put to the trouble and expense of undergoing a sessions trial. This is evident from the fact that section 209 makes it obligatory on the Magistrate holding the enquiry to discharge the accused in case there are not sufficient grounds for committing him for trial. To discharge this function the Magistrate has necessarily to appreciate the evidence. But he must bear in mind that the purpose of the enquiry is only to determine if there are sufficient 'grounds for making the accused stand a trial and not to decide about his guilt. He should take care to see that he does not trespass into the province of the Sessions Court which alone can try the accused. It is not easy to draw the line between the duty of the Magistrate and that of the Sessions Court in all cases. There is no difficulty in those cases where the evidence is such that there can be no two opinions as to whether the case is a fit one for trial or not. But quite a number of cases are on the border line, and as the amount of evidence which would enable the Magistrate to determine whether there are sufficient grounds for committing the accused for trial or not is entirely dependent on the facts of each case, it is neither useful nor desirable to attempt at a precise definition of the limits of the Magistrate's discretion in the matter. A Magistrate holding the preliminary enquiry has power to sift and weigh evidence only for the purpose of determining whether or not it is a fit case for committal and not for deciding about the guilt of the accused. No hard and fast rules can be laid down regarding the distinction to be made between the duty of a Committing Magistrate and that of the Sessions Court, but the test is a safe guide viz., that if…

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