SYED BASHA Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD the arguments of the learned counsel on both sides.

(2.) THE six petitioners herein were the six respective accused, who had been tried in the Court of the Additional Civil Court and Chief Judicial Magistrate, Shimoga in C. C. No. 422/1991 for the offence under Section 411, I. P. C. and for the offence under Section 87 of the Karnataka Forest Act 1963 ("the Act of 1963" in short) and are convicted of both these offences and each of them is sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of 3 years on the count of Section 411 I. P. C. ; and also to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 3 years and to pay a fine of Rs. 10,000/-, in default to suffer rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year each for the offence under Section 87 of the Act of 1963. When the trial court's judgment of conviction and sentence dated 28th Nov. 1992 was challenged before the Lower Appellate Court in Criminal Appeal Nos. 90 and 91/1992, the same came to be confirmed by its judgment dated 26th Nov. 1999. The petitioners have now approached this Court in Revision under Section 397 of Cr. P. C. , questioning the legality and correctness of the judgment of the trial Court and also of the Lower Appellate Court passed confirming the same.

(3.) THE petitioners are here-in-after referred to respectively as Accused No. 1, Accused No. 2, Accused No. 3, Accused No. 4, Accused No. 5 and Accused No. 6 in which order they were made to face the trial before the learned Magistrate. The charge against them was that on 22-8-1991 at about 3 p. m. on Puradalu-Malliganahalli path way each of Accused No. 1 to Accused No. 6 was found in possession of one gunny bag containing sandal wood billets, all valued at Rs. 11,319. 00, belonging to the Government of Karnataka, knowing that they are the stolen property, without any permit or licence and thereby offences under Section 411 of I. P. C. and under Section 87 of the Act of 1963 were committed by them.