Once the Magistrates' Court grants summary jurisdiction under s 29(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic) and that decision is not challenged on appeal, the accused has an accrued right to a summary hearing. The Director of Public Prosecutions cannot use the power to file a direct indictment under s 159 to circumvent that grant of summary jurisdiction. Filing a direct indictment in such circumstances constitutes an abuse of process warranting a permanent stay. There is no statutory exception permitting a direct indictment notwithstanding a prior grant of summary hearing.
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