Now, Sir, I come to clause (2). The principal point is that raised by my Friend Mr. Pataskar. So far as I was able to understand, he wanted to replace the word “Magistrate” by the words “First class Magistrate”. Well, I find some difficulty in accepting the words suggested by him for two reasons. We have in clause (2) used very important words, namely, “the nearest Magistrate” and I thought that was very necessary because otherwise it would enable a police officer to keep a man in custody for a longer period on the ground that a particular Magistrate to whom he wanted to take the accused, or the Magistrate who would be ultimately entitled to try the accused, was living at a distance far away and therefore he bad a justifiable ground for detaining him for the longer period. In order to take away any such argument, we had used the words “the nearest Magistrate”. Now supposing, we were to add the words “the nearest First Class Magistrate”: the position would be very difficult. There may be “the nearest Magistrate” who should be approached by the police in the interests of the accused himself in order that his case may be judicially considered. But he may not be a First Class Magistrate. Therefore, we have really to take a choice: whether we shall give the accused the earliest opportunity to have his matter decided and looked into by the Magistrate near about, or whether we should go in search of a First Class Magistrate. I think the nearest Magistrate is the best provision in the interests of the liberty of the, accused. I might also point out to my Friend, Mr. Pataskar, that even if I were to accept his amendment–“the nearest First Class Magistrate”– it would be perfectly possible for the Government of the day to amend the Criminal Procedure Code to confer the powers of a First Class Magistrate on any Magistrate whom they want and thereby cheat the accused. I do not think therefore that his amendment is either desirable or necessary and I cannot accept it.
