LAW & LAWYER

  JURISDICTION OF THE MAGISTRATE COURT. Duncan Abeynayaka – LLB, Attorney At Law   JUDICATURE ACT 02 OF 1978 30. Every Magistrates Court shall have and exercise all powers and authorities and perform all duties which Magistrates' Courts are empowered and required to have, exercise and perform by virtue of the provisions of the Penal Code or of the law relating to criminal procedure or of any other enactment for the time being in force in any way empowering or requiring them in that behalf. For the purposes of this section "law relating to criminal procedure” shall mean the Code of Criminal Procedure Act.   CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ACT NO 15 OF 1979 128 (1) Every offence shall ordinarily be inquired into and tried by a court within the local limits of whose jurisdiction it was committed. (2) Any Magistrate's Court within the local limits of the jurisdiction of which an accused may be or be found shall have jurisdiction respectively in all cases of offe...

PROCEDURE WHEN INVESTIGATION CANNOT BE COMPLETED IN TWENTY FOUR HOURS. Duncan Abeynayaka – LLB, Attorney At Law   CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ACT 115. (1) Whenever an investigation under this Chapter cannot be completed within the period of twenty-four hours fixed by section 37, and there are grounds for believing that further investigation is necessary the officer in charge of the police station or the inquirer shall forthwith forward the suspect to the Magistrate having jurisdiction in the case and shall at the same time transmit to such Magistrate a report of the case, together with a summary of the statements, if any, made by each of the witnesses examined in the course of such investigation relating to the case. (2) The Magistrate before whom a suspect is forwarded under this section, if he is satisfied that it is expedient to detain the suspect in custody pending further investigation, may after recoiling his reasons, by warrant addressed to the superintendent of a...

DECIDED JUDGMENTS ON DEFECTIVE AFFIDAVITS. Duncan Abeynayaka – LLB, Attorney At Law   OATHS AND AFFIRMATIONS ORDINANCE NO. 9 OF 1895 CIVIL PROCEDURE CODE SEC 181, 437 ETC..   01. RUSTOMJEE V. KHAN 18 NLR 120 PEREIRA J. Under the Oaths Ordinance, 1895, it is open to a non-Christian who believed in God to swear rather than affirm. On the petition filed the District Judge made an interlocutory order in terms of sub-section (b) of section 377 of the Civil Procedure Code. The respondent filed two affidavits in terms of section 384. One of these affidavits the District Judge rejected, because the deponent, a Parsee gentleman, and presumably a Zoroastrian, preferred to swear instead of affirming. Whatever other reasons there may be for rejecting this affidavit:, the reason given by the District Judge appears to me to be untenable. He says: " The word ' sworn ' would seem only to be appropriate to the case of an oath by a Christian. "I do not agree with him ...

PRIMARY COURTS' PROCEDURE ACT (NO. 44 OF 1979) - SECT 66 APPLICATIONS Duncan Abeynayaka – LLB, Attorney At Law   01. VELUPILLAI AND OTHERS V. SIVANATHAN (1993) 1 SLR 123 February 24, 1993. ISMAIL, J. Under section 66 (1)(a) of the Primary Courts Procedure Act, the formation of the opinion as to whether a breach of the peace is threatened or likely is left to the police officer inquiring into the dispute. The police officer is empowered to file the information if there is a dispute affecting land and a breach of the peace is threatened or likely. The Magistrate is not put on inquiry as to whether a breach of the peace is threatened or likely . In terms of section 66 (2) the Court is vested with jurisdiction to inquire into and make a determination on the dispute regarding which information is filed either under section 66 (1)(a) or 66 (1)(b). However when an information is filed under section 66 (1)(b) the only material that the Magistrate would have before him is t...