1923_MAGISTRATES_ORDINANCE__1890 — Page 37

478

No. 3 of 1890.

MAGISTRATES.

First notice thereof, signed by the said magistrate, shall at the same time be given to the person bound thereby. Provided

Schedule. First Schedule. Form No. 74.

always that if any such witness for the prosecution or defence refuses to enter into or acknowledge such recognizance as aforesaid, it shall be lawful for the magistrate, by his warrant, to commit him to prison there to be safely kept until after the trial of the accused, unless in the meantime such witness duly enters into such recognizance as aforesaid before a magistrate. Provided, nevertheless, that if afterwards, from want of sufficient evidence in that behalf or other cause, the magistrate before whom the accused has been brought does not commit him or hold him to bail for the offence with which he is charged, it shall be lawful for a magistrate, by his order in that behalf, to order and direct the Superintendent of Prisons to discharge such witness from prison, and the said Superintendent shall thereupon forthwith discharge him accordingly: Provided, further, that all such recognizances so taken, together with the written information, if any, or summons, the depositions on either side, and the statement of the accused, if any, shall be kept together until the close of the case before the magistrate, and if the accused is then committed for trial shall be transmitted by the magistrate, or he shall cause the same to be transmitted, to the Crown Solicitor for the use of the Attorney-General.

First Schedule. Form No. 75.

[cf. No. 9 of 1899, s. 11.]

Discharge or committal of accused.

c. 42, s. 25.

76. When all the evidence offered on the part of the prosecution against the accused has been heard, if the magistrate is of opinion that it is not sufficient to put the accused upon his trial for any indictable offence, the magistrate shall forthwith order the accused, if in custody, to be discharged as to the information then under inquiry; but if, in the opinion of the magistrate, such evidence is sufficient to put the accused upon his trial for an indictable offence, or if the evidence given raises a strong or probable presumption of the guilt of the accused, then the magistrate shall, by his warrant, commit him to prison to be there safely kept until he shall be thence delivered by due course of law or admit him to bail as heretofore mentioned.

Informing accused of committal.

77.-(1) If the magistrate commits the accused to prison for trial between the 10th and 18th days, both inclusive, of any month, he shall (unless it has been ordered that there shall be no criminal session of the court in the month immediately following) inform the accused that he will be tried at the next criminal session of the Supreme Court.

* As amended by No. 28 of 1913 and Law Am. Ord., 1923.