imputil with only .pyc files

I've been using imputil as the base for importing python modules over
http.  I've noticed that the builtin importer imputil.BuiltinImporter
doesn't import .pyc files if there is no corresponding .py file.  I've
added my own suffix handler for just .pyc files, but I'm wondering if
this is a bug or a feature?

We're using python on the ipaqs, so we've deleted the .py files to
save space.

Thanks,
Jason