Adjournment and proceeding thereon

(l) At any time before or during the hearing of a complaint the court may, in its discretion, adjourn the hearing to a certain time and place to be then appointed and stated in the presence and hearing of the party or parties, or his or their respective attorney-at-law, or in the absence of a defendant, if it is proved to the satisfaction of the court that the defendant is unable to appear by reason of illness or any other unavoidable cause. there-on. (2) Upon the adjournment, the court may, (a) suffer the defendant to go at large; (b) commit him to prison or to other safe custody as the court thinks fit, but no committal under this paragraph shall be for a longer term than eight days, the day following that on which the committal is made being counted as the first day; or (c) discharge him upon his entering into a recognisance, with or without a surety or sureties to the satisfaction of the magistrate, 30 conditioned for his appearance at the time and place to which the hearing or further hearing is so adjourned. (3) If, at the time and place to which the hearing or further hearing is so adjourned, either or both of the parties does not or do not appear, the court may proceed to the hearing or further hearing as if the party or parties were present or, if the complainant does not appear, the court may dismiss the (4) The power to adjourn the hearing of a case, includes power, after a person has been convicted and before he has been sentenced or otherwise dealt with, to adjourn the case for the purpose of enabling inquiries to be made or of determining the most suitable method of dealing with his case. (5) The court shall not for the purpose specified in subsection (4) of this Act adjourn the hearing of a case under this section for any single period exceeding three weeks. Order for Taking of Prints