Bombay High Court: A Full Court Bench of Pradeep Nandrajog, CJ and Revati Mohite Were and Bharati H. Dangre, JJ. returned a reference unanswered in light for the reason that the law is well settled and there was no contradiction in the judgments delivered by different Benches.
The questions were referred to be answered by a Full Bench relating to the procedure to be followed by the Magistrate while issuing a Show Cause Notice under Section 107 CrPC (security for keeping the peace in other cases, i.e. other than the case of security for keeping the peace on conviction under Section 106). The Division Bench, in the present case, noted that as many as eight judgments passed by different Benches had held that before proceeding to issue a Show Cause Notice envisaged under Section 107, the opinion contemplated by Section 111 CrPC (order to be made) had to be separately authored. It was also noted that another Division Bench in Suleman Adam v. Emperor, 1909 SCC Online Bom 102, had taken a contra view. Therefore, the instant reference was made to the Full Bench.
The High Court perused all the decisions mentioned in the reference order and noted that the procedure followed in Suleman Adam’s case was in the peculiar facts of that particular case. It was observed: “To put simply, the requirement of law is that the Magistrate has to form an opinion in writing contemplated by Section 111 CrPC and thereafter proceed to issue a show cause notice as contemplated by Section 107 and along with the show cause notice annex the opinion. But, in a given case, it may happen that the language in which the order/opinion contemplated under Section 111 is not comprehensible to the noticee, then the may integrate the order/opinion and convey to the noticee in the language which the noticee comprehends.”
It was further stated: “The purpose of the law is that the noticee is to be made known the factual matrix comprising either the complaint or the information received by the Magistrate and the reasons for the opinion formed by the Magistrate.”
The High Court did not find any contra opinion in Suleman Adam’s case vis-a-vis the opinion given in the other eight judgments mentioned in the reference order. Resultantly, the Full Bench returned the reference unanswered for the reason that the law is well settled as captured in the said eight judgments.[Farhan Nasir Khan v. State of Maharashtra, 2019 SCC OnLine Bom 1777, decided on 03-09-2019]
