Full Judgment
Panchapakesa Ayyar, J.
1. The petitioner is an approver, and neither an accused nor a mere witness. He was in remand when he was tendered a pardon as an approver and accepted it. So he must be detained in custody under Section 337(3), Criminal Procedure Code, till the termination of the trial if committal ensues, or till the termination of the enquiry if committal does not ensue.
2. The fact that he is said to have turnedhostile is immaterial. Approvers are 'approvers' whether they are true to their wordor turn hostile. Their character cannot bechanged till the termination of the trial or enquiry in which they have been tendered andhave accepted a pardon. They cannot throwaway the pardon and get rid of their obligations like an advocate throwing away his brief.There are certain legal statuses like husband,wife, father, mother, son, approver etc., whichcannot be thrown away at will. As even theenquiry is not yet over, the approver must remain in detention; if committal ensues, the detention will till the termination of the trial.That other accused have been let off on bail isimmaterial as he is not an accused; that otherwitnesses are not detained in custody is immaterial as he is not a mere witness but anapprover-witness subject to the mandatory provisions of Section 337(3), Criminal ProcedureCode. This petition deserves to be and ishereby dismissed.