JUDGMENT 1. In this case certain persons being required to furnish security for good behavior under sec. 110, Cr. P.C., offered the Petitioners as sureties. The Deputy Magistrate ordered a Police enquiry and, upon the Police reporting that the sureties were related to the prisoners and making certain insinuations against them, the Deputy Magistrate recorded the following order: "The applicants are not fit persons to stand sureties. Their application is rejected." The Deputy Magistrate gave no reasons notwithstanding the provisions of sec. 122, Cr. P.C., which expressly requires a Magistrate to record his reasons for holding a surety to be an unfit person. The police-report itself, on which the Deputy Magistrate acted, discloses no grounds of unfitness except the allegation of relationship and certain conjectures and surmises. It is not at all clear why relationship is necessarily a disqualification, whereas it is easy to conceive cases where a relation would possess special advantages in watching and controlling the conduct and movements of a bad character. The intention of the legislature in insisting that a Magistrate should record his reasons in refusing to accept a surety on the ground of unfitness is that the Magistrate should exercise his independent judgment. The implicit acceptance of opinions expressed in police-reports without considering the facts upon which such opinions are based, would place all persons ordered to furnish security entirely at the mercy of the Police. The Deputy Magistrate has stated in his explanation that no objections against the police-report were made to him. But it does not appear from the record that he gave any opportunity either to the prisoners or to the sureties for preferring objections or that they were made aware of the contents of the police-report. We agree with the principle laid down in the case of Narain Sooboddhee 22 W.R. 37 Cr. (1874) that "the ground on which a Magistrate has power to refuse to accept any surety must be a valid and reasonable ground." 2. We therefore set aside the Deputy Magistrate's order, dated 15th February 1906, refusing to accept the sureties offered. The Magistrate should make such enquiry as he thinks necessary, hear objections, if any, and dispose of the application according to law.