The Hon. Attorney General vs. Subramanium Sabapathi – CA HCC 0155/2023-2025

In the matter of The Hon. Attorney General vs. Subramanium Sabapathi, the court addressed the issue of the High Court’s jurisdiction to hear charges for summary offences under the Debt Recovery (Special Provisions) Act when directly indicted by the Attorney General. The court held that the Attorney General possesses the power under Section 393(7) of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act to forward indictments for summary offences directly to the High Court, thereby vesting jurisdiction in the High Court and divesting the Magistrate’s Court. This decision reaffirmed the principle established in ‘Sellaiya Sribalan v The Attorney General’, emphasizing that the High Court’s preliminary objection was erroneous, and the case must proceed with all charges.

P. Kumararatnam, J. – The judgment addre