OM PRAKASH NARANG Vs. STATE OF DELHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition is directed against the order dated 22.2.1984 passed by Shri K.P. Verma Additional Sessions Judge, Delhi under Section 232 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 (in short Code) whereby he refused to pass an order of acquittal in regard to the petitioner Om Parkash Narang Omi Narang and called upon him to enter upon his defence. In the impunged order the learned Additional Sessions Judge observed that he thought that with clarity and definiteness it could not be said that there was no such evidence against the petitioner (accused No. 3).

(2.) In nutshell the back-ground of the case is that in a theft case two statues of a temple were the case property and were lying in the custody of Shri RK. Sam then Magistrate Karanal. Rama Narang and his companion Narinder Nath Malik approached that Court for being given those statues on superdari as, they wanted to make the replicas of the same. Narinder Nath Malik was ultimately given those two statues on superdari with a direction to return the same as and when called upon to do so. Bal Krishan (P.W.45) was engaged by Rama Narang to prepare the replicas of these two statues. The case of the prosecution is that those two statues had been obtained with a view to have the replicas thereof prepared and then to return the replicas to the Court from where statues had been obtained and to sell the original statues to make fortune.

(3.) The petitioner is the real brother of Rama Narang. It is pointed out by the learned counsel for the petitioner that in this case there is no evidence against the petitioner so as to connect him with the crime.It is admitted case of both the parties that the only evidence appearing in this case in which the petitioner has been named comprises only a couple of lines appearing in the examination in-chief of Bal Krishan (P.W. 45) who was entrusted with the job of preparing replicas of the statues by Rama Narang, These lines are reproduced below: when I was doing the job at that said two places, Rama Narang and Omi Narang, used to come to see the progress of-the work and Mannu Narang accused also came once or so... I