The fact of the case:
Appellant
Kamruzzaman was sent up by the police under the Special Powers Act, 1974 for
trial by Special Tribunal No. IV of Cumilla on a charge under Section 19(1) of the Arms Act. The record of the case was received by the Special Tribunal on 2
August 1986, but the trial was not concluded till 6 August 1988, when he made
an application to the Tribunal to stop the proceeding and to release him at the specified time for the conclusion of the trial i.e 240 days already
expired. The Tribunal refused his application whereupon he moved the High
Court Division under Section 561A of the code for quashing the proceedings.Issue of the case:
Whether Section 339C of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 shall apply to trial under the Special Powers Act,1974?Decision:
The High Court Division rejected the application holding that provisions of Section 339C of the Code would not apply to his case which is exclusively triable under the Act. Then appeal has been preferred to the Appellate Division.Justification:
There is no dispute that the Code of Criminal Procedure is a general law of procedure and the Special Powers Act, 1974 is a special law for the trial of certain offenses and that in the case of any conflict between the two, the special Act shall prevail under the principle "Generalia Specialists Nonderogant". But here it is the special statute, namely the Act, which itself provides that provisions of the Code shall apply to a proceeding under it (Act) so far as only they are not inconsistent with its provisions. For the conclusion of trial within any specified period there is no provision in the Act, but there is such a provision in the Code; as such there is no conflict between the Act and the Code in respect of trial within any specified period.Section 29 of the Act, as already quoted above, provides that provisions of the Code shall apply to a case under the Act if they are not inconsistent with any provisions of the Act. When provisions of the Code apply to any case or proceedings under the Act, because of this enabling provision, the Tribunal trying the case under the Act will not be designated as a Court of Session or of a Magistrate but it will apply the provisions of the Code in the trial before it.
Section 339C of the Code is intended for expeditious trial. If this provision for speedy trial is not applied to a trial under the Special Statute, the trial will linger in the case under the special laws, whereas that under the general law shall be concluded speedily. This will bring about an anomalous situation, which could not have been the intention of the last makers. We are, therefore, clearly of the view that Section 339C of the Code applies to the proceedings as to the trial of the appellant under the Act.
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