Wakilii

Rex v Bates (Cr. Rev. Case No. 44-1937)

East African Court of Appeal · [1937] EACA 192 · 1937 Revision Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Criminal revision application by the Crown following refusal to commit by Resident Magistrate
Decision
Accused not committed for trial; revision application dismissed

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court held that posting a closed envelope containing a scurrilous communication does not constitute an offence under section 23 of the Post Office Ordinance 1934. The phrase 'postal article having thereon' words of a scurrilous character requires objectionable words to appear on the outside of the postal article. The legislature distinguished between seditious matter (absolutely prohibited regardless of visibility) and scurrilous matter (prohibited only when visible on the exterior). The Resident Magistrate's refusal to commit was upheld.

Outcome

Accused not committed for trial; revision application dismissed

Facts

The respondent was charged under sections 23 and 42(1) of the Post Office Ordinance 1934 with transmitting by post postal articles having thereon words of a scurrilous nature. Evidence showed she had posted letters on three dates which bore on the outside only names and addresses of addressees but contained anonymous communications of a scurrilous nature inside the envelopes. The Resident Magistrate refused to commit on the ground that no offence under section 23 had been disclosed. The Crown applied for revision.

Issues

  1. Whether the posting of a closed envelope containing a communication of a scurrilous character, but bearing on the outside only the name and address of the addressee, constitutes an offence under section 23 of the Post Office Ordinance 1934.

Orders

  • Application for revision rejected.
  • Decision of the Resident Magistrate refusing to commit upheld.

Rules and key headnotes

Statutory Interpretation — Construction of Penal Statutes — Plain Meaning Rule
When construing a penal statute, courts must confine themselves to the express provisions of the Act and cannot add words merely because they think the legislature would have done so if the question had presented itself.
Statutory Interpretation — Comparative Statutory Analysis — Limits on Use of Foreign Legislation
While decisions on similar Imperial or foreign statutes may be useful in interpreting colonial legislation, it is perilous to institute detailed textual comparison and draw inferences from variations between the colonial ordinance and the presumed model statute.
Criminal Law & Procedure — Post Office Offences — Scurrilous Communications — Meaning of 'Having Thereon'
The phrase 'postal article having thereon' words of a scurrilous character in section 23 of the Post Office Ordinance 1934 requires the objectionable words to appear on the outside of the postal article, not merely within an enclosed communication.
Statutory Interpretation — Legislative Intent — Distinction Between Categories of Prohibited Matter
Where a statute uses different language for different categories of prohibited matter (absolute prohibition for seditious matter versus conditional prohibition for scurrilous matter), the difference in language indicates a difference in legislative intention regarding the scope of each prohibition.

Legislation cited (4)

  • Post Office Ordinance 1934 s.23
  • Post Office Ordinance 1934 s.42(1)
  • Post Office Ordinance 1934 s.2
  • Post Office Ordinance 1934 s.19(2)

Cases cited (3)

  • Commissioner of Stamps, Straits Settlements v Oei Tjong Swan (1933 A.C. 378)
  • Alcock Ashdown and Co v Chief Revenue Authority, Bombay (1923 L.R. 50 I.A. 227)
  • Green v Wood (14 L.J.Q.B. 217)

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Rex v Bates (Cr. Rev. Case No. 44-1937) [1937] EACA 192 (1 January 1937)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.