MUHAMMAD AFZAL Versus THE STATE

A case under section 133 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is pending in the Court of the Assistant Commissioner, Pind Dadan Khan. This is an application for transfer of the said case on the ground that the Assistant Commissioner, Pind Dadan Khan has no jurisdiction to deal with the matter. By means of Notification bearing No. 8-15/62 (SOPI) dated 18-12-1969 issued by the Governor of West Pakistan in exercise of the powers conferred by subsection (l) of section 8 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1898), the Governor of the Punjab was pleased to declare that the old Sub-Divisions will continue in addition to the new Sub-Divisions which were created by means of the aforesaid Notification. The list of the existing Sub-Divisions is mentioned in Schedule II which indicates at item No. 25 (it) that Pind Dadan Khan was an existing Sub- Division. According to the aforesaid Notification, the Assistant Commissioner is the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of that Sub-Division. According to section 133 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Sub-Divisional Magis trate is competent to deal with the matters specified therein. This is the statutory jurisdiction of a Sub-Divisional Magistrate and no exception can be taken to the same on the ground that the village in dispute falls within the territorial jurisdiction of Police Station Jalalpur Sharif which otherwise is in the jurisdiction of another Illaqa Magistrate at Jhelum. The contention raised, therefore, has no substance and since from the point of view mentioned above, no exception can be taken to the jurisdiction of the learned Sub-Divisional Magistrate, any application for transfer of the case on that ground must fail.

2. The next point argued was that the petitioner has filed a civil suit in which the Sub-Divisional Magistrate duly figures as a defendant and from that point of view also it would not be justified that the present case should be dealt with by him. The contention has no merit. In the civil suit the petitioner has tried to prevent the learned Sub-Divisional Magistrate from exercising his jurisdiction under section 133 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which obviously cannot be allowed. As mentioned earlier, this is a statutory jurisdiction of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate and merely because ` a functionary in his official capacity has been made a defendant in some proceedings it cannot debar him from exercising such function.

3. The result is that this application has no merit and is dismissed.

K B A. Petition dismissed.