PREMI Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This criminal revision was received from jail and was admitted to regular hearing by my brother Tatachari J. on August 12, 1968. The grievance of the petitioner is that he had already been convicted for the same offence by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Simla and should not have therefore, been convicted again for the same offence by the learned Magistrate, first class. Kasumpti. Although the petitioner's appeal had been dismissed by the learned Sessions Judge, Mahasu on the ground that it was barred by time, my learned brother was of the view that the prohibition against conviction of the petitioner for a second time for the same offence being an absolute prohibition the contention should have been considered by the learned Sessions Judge regardless of the fact that the appeal filed by the petitioner was barred by limitation.

(2.) In answer to the notice issued to the State Mr. K. C. Pandit has appeard on its behalf and has taken me through the files of the cases decided by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Simla and the Magistrate, first class, Kasumpti. An examination of those files shows that the petitioner who is a habitual offender and has as many as 27 previous convictions, was arrested by the police in case No. 50 of 1964 under sections 380 and 457, Indian Penal Code. During the course of his interrogation in that case it was revealed that the petitioner was involved in theft of certain clothes from tlic Agricultural Rent House, Mashobra within the Jurisdiction of Police Station Dhalli, on the night between 11th March, 1967 and 12th March, 1967. Consequent upon the disclosure statement made by the petitioner recovery of certain articles was made and first information report No. 21 dated 12th March, 1967 was registered at the Police Station Sadar Simla for an offence under section 411, Indian Penal Code Further interrogation of the petitioner revealed that some of the the articles recovered by the police were the result of a theft committed by the petitioner on 27th February, 1967 in the house of one Dina Nath in village Kiar Koti, also within the jurisdiction of Police Station Dhalli. This led to the registration of another first information report No. 22 at the Police Station Sadar Simla for an offence under section 411, Indian Penal Code, on 18th March, 1967

(3.) Meanwhile since the main offence of burglary at the Agricultural Rest House at Mashobra had been committed within the jurisdiction of the Police Station Dhalli, another first information report No. 87 of 1967 was registered at that Police Station on 12th March. 1967 for offences under Sections 457 and 380, Indian Penal Code and the Superintendent of Police, Mahasu District sent a letter to the Superintendent of Police, Simla District stating that the proper course would be to charge-sheet the accused (petitioner herein) with the principal offence of house-breaking and theft and not under Section 411, Indian Penal Code for dishonesty, especially receiving or retaining stolen property especially when the punishment provided for those offences was severer than that provided for on offence under Section 411, Indian Penal Code. A request was therefore made for cancellation of first information report No 21 at Simla.