Special summons in cases of petty offence :
Section – 206. (1) If, in the opinion of a Magistrate taking cognizance of a petty offence, the case may be summarily disposed of under section 260 [or section 261], the Magistrate shall, except where he is, for reasons to be recorded in writing of a contrary opinion, issue summons to the accused requiring him either to appear in person or by pleader before the Magistrate on a specified date, or if he desires to plead guilty to the charge without appearing before the Magistrate, to transmit before the specified date, by post or by messenger to the Magistrate, the said plea in writing and the amount of fine specified in the summons or if he desires to appear by pleader and to plead guilty to the charge through such pleader, to authorise, in writing, the pleader to plead guilty to the charge on his behalf and to pay the fine through such pleader:
Provided that the amount of the fine specified in such summons shall not exceed one [thousand] rupees.
(2) For the purposes of this section, “petty offence” means any offence punishable only with fine not exceeding one thousand rupees, but does not include any offence so punishable under the Motor Vehicles Act,1939 (4 of 1939), or under any other law which provides for convicting the accused person in his absence on a plea of guilty.
(3) The State Government may, by notification, specially empower any Magistrate to exercise the powers conferred by sub-section (1) in relation to any offence which is compoundable under section 320 or any offence punishable with imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or with fine, or with both where the Magistrate is of opinion that, having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case, the imposition of fine only would meet the ends of justice.
COMMENTS
LAW COMMISSION’S OBSERVATIONS
Pleading guilty in absentia in petty cases—This is a new section. It has been inserted to give effect to the recommendations of the Law Commission that special procedure similar to the one contained in section 130 of Motor Vehicles Act, 1939, enabling the accused to plead guilty in absentia in petty cases might be adopted with advantage. The following observations were made by the Law Commission in this regard:
“We consider that this procedure could be adopted with advantage in regard to any offence punishable only with fine not exceeding one thousand rupees. The prosecution may indicate in the police report or complaint whether the case is regarded as a fit one for applying this procedure and if the Magistrate taking cognizance of the offence agrees he may indicate in the summons that if the accused desires to plead guilty to the charge without appearing in court, he may transmit his plea and the stipulated fine, either by post or by messenger. It should, however, be provided in the law that the amount of fine that might be specified in the summons should not exceed one hundred rupees. The new provision should not apply to any offence under any special or local law which, like the Motor Vehicles Act,1939, contains a provision for convicting the accused in his absence on a plea of guilty and sentencing to pay a fine.”
JOINT COMMITTEE OF PARLIAMENT
The section as it was originally worded gave a discretion to the Magistrate to adopt or not to adopt the simple procedure indicated therein. The Joint Committee, however, considered that the procedure should be compulsory in petty cases unless there were some special reasons justifying a departure. The Joint Committee also considered that the accused should be permitted to plead guilty through his pleader. Accordingly, these provisions were amended by the joint Committee.