Sections 479, 480 and 481 CrPC: Judge or Magistrate Personally Interested, Practising Pleader and Property Sale
Sections 479, 480 and 481 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 formed part of Chapter XXXVII, "Miscellaneous". They dealt with judicial impartiality, a practising pleader sitting as Magistrate, and the prohibition against a public servant purchasing or bidding for property in a sale with which that public servant was officially concerned.
Section 479 CrPC - Case in which Judge or Magistrate is personally interested
Section 479 protected the impartial administration of criminal justice. A Judge or Magistrate could not, without permission of the appellate Court, try or commit for trial a case to or in which that Judge or Magistrate was a party or personally interested. It also barred a Judge or Magistrate from hearing an appeal against a judgment or order passed or made by himself.
Meaning and scope
The provision addressed a direct conflict of interest. Its object was to prevent a judicial officer from deciding a matter in which the officer had a personal stake and to prevent an officer from sitting in appeal over his own decision.
The statutory explanation clarified that a Judge or Magistrate was not treated as a party or as personally interested merely because the officer was concerned in the matter in a public capacity, or merely because the officer had viewed the place of the alleged offence or another material transaction and had made an inquiry connected with the case.
Section 480 CrPC - Practising pleader not to sit as Magistrate in certain Courts
Section 480 provided that a pleader practising in the Court of a Magistrate could not sit as a Magistrate in that Court or in any Court within its local jurisdiction.
The provision separated the professional role of a practising pleader from the judicial role of a Magistrate in the same local court system. It was intended to avoid the conflict that could arise if a legal practitioner also exercised magisterial functions in the Court in which the practitioner appeared professionally.
Karnataka State Amendment - Section 480A
The existing page records the Karnataka amendment inserting Section 480A, titled "Other powers of Magistrate". It provided that a Judicial Magistrate or Executive Magistrate could attest, verify or authenticate a document brought before the Magistrate for that purpose and affix seals as prescribed by law. The page attributes this insertion to Karnataka Act 35 of 1984.
Section 481 CrPC - Public servant concerned in sale not to purchase or bid for property
Section 481 prohibited a public servant having a duty to perform in connection with the sale of property under the CrPC from purchasing or bidding for that property.
The rule prevented a public servant who had an official role in a statutory sale from becoming a purchaser or bidder in the same sale, thereby avoiding a direct conflict between public duty and private financial interest.
Corresponding provisions under BNSS
The BNSS carries forward these subjects in Sections 526, 527 and 528 respectively. Section 526 concerns cases in which a Judge or Magistrate is personally interested; Section 527 uses the expression "practising advocate" and prohibits such an advocate from sitting as Magistrate in the specified Courts; and Section 528 concerns a public servant connected with a sale purchasing or bidding for the property.
Summary
Sections 479 to 481 CrPC were safeguards against conflicts of interest in criminal procedure. Section 479 dealt with personal judicial interest and appeals from one's own orders, Section 480 restricted a practising pleader from sitting as Magistrate within the relevant local court structure, and Section 481 barred an officially concerned public servant from purchasing or bidding at the relevant property sale.