JUDGMENT Dalal, J.
1. This is a civil revision, as the only question which may arise is that of jurisdiction. On facts the decision of the Additional District Judge of Meerut is binding.
2. An Assistant Collector of the First Class granted sanction for the prosecution of Hafiz Abdul Hai under certain sections of the Penal Code. He appealed under Section 476-B, Criminal P.C. and filed the appeal in the Court of the Additional District Judge of Meerut sitting at Muzaffarnagar. That Judge allowed the appeal, and hence the complainant has come hero in revision. Two points are raised to prove want of jurisdiction of the lower appellate Court:
1. That in a case like the present no appeal lay under Section 476-B; and 2. That the Additional District Judge of Meerut sitting at Muzaffarnagar had no jurisdiction to receive the appeal.
3. A third point was raised that the transfer to the Court of the Temporary Additional Judge was invalid. This argument may be easily disposed of. If the appeal was validly filed in the Court of the Additional District Judge, the District Judge of Meerut had authority under Section 24, Civil P. C, to transfer the appeal to the Court of the Temporary Additional District Judge.
4. An appeal is allowed under Section 476-B in every case in which a civil, revenue or criminal Court has made a complaint against any person. When such a right is given it must be presumed that the Court exercising such right is properly indicated in the provisions of Section 195(3), Criminal P.C. According to those provisions, where appeals lie to a civil and also to a revenue Court, such Courts shall be deemed to be subordinate to the civil or revenue Court according to the nature of the case or proceeding in connexion with which the offence is alleged to have been committed. In the present case the suit was one for recovery of revenue under the Tenancy Act, and as appeals from decrees in such suits lie to the civil Court the Assistant Collector would be deemed to be subordinate to the civil Court for the purposes of this particular case. That was allowed by the applicant's counsel. His objection was that the suit was one in which no appeal lay to any Court, the valuation of the suit being less than Rs. 200. The determination of the superior Court, however, is not confined to the decrees which are appealable. What is stated is that a Court shall be deemed to be subordinate to the Court to which appeals ordinarily lie from the appealable decrees, If this Court passed any appealable decrees in matters relating to the recovery of arrears of revenue, appeals from such decrees would lie to the civil Court, and therefore, the Court under Section 476-B would be subordinate to the civil Court when a complaint ia filed in any suit of this nature whether a decree therefrom be appealable or not. I feel no difficulty in interpreting the words of Clause (3), Section 195 which must be construed in a way to permit appeals in every case under Section 476-B.
5. It was pointed out that the provisions of Section 21(3), Bengal N.W.P. and Assam Civil Courts Act, (No. 12 of 1887), refer specifically to appeals from Subordinate Judges and Munsiffs, and, therefore, the District Judge cannot assign the receiving and hearing of revenue appeals to an Additional District Judge. This may be conceded so far as the provisions of Section 21 of the Act, are concerned. There is, however, another provision contained in Section 8 of the same Act, to the effect that Additional Judges appointed to any district shall discharge any of the functions of the District Judge which the District Judge may assign to them, and, in the discharge of those functions, they shall exercise the same powers as the District Judge. The function of receiving and hearing revenue appeals has been assigned by the District Judge to the Additional District Judge of Muzaffarnagar with respect to all revenue appeals of the Muzaffarnagar District. I am, therefore, of opinion that the appeal was rightly filed in the Court of the Additional District Judge and it was not necessary that it should have been filed in the Court of the District Judge of Meerut and specifically transferred to the Court of the Additional District Judge. I dismiss this application.