VARGHESE Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner was convicted by the Munsiff Magistrate of Kalpetta for the offence of theft of a standing tree and its branches from the Government land in R. S. 249/2 in Purakkadi amsom. In appeal, on a reappraisal of the evidence, learned Sessions Judge of Kozhikode confirmed the conviction and sentence and he has now come up in revision.

(2.) IT was contended that two witnesses cited by the prosecution as eye witnesses had turned hostile, that pw. 1 is not an eye witness and there is, in fact, complete paucity of evidence to prove that the tree was cut by the accused. IT is true that pw. 3 made a feeble attempt to help the accused. He is a kachitdar who was entrusted with the piece of timber after executing kachit Ext-P-3. Even though he started by saying that he did not see the cutting he later stated that he had told the police that he had seen the cutting & that is the truth, and it was only by a slip that he happened to say when first questioned that he did not see the cutting. In the cross-examination also by the defence counsel he stated that he saw the accused cutting a nhaval tree and another kuliramavu tree and that nobody else had cut any trees from the land which is in the possession of the accused. The courts below have chosen to believe this witness & I do not find any good grounds to differ from the concurrent findings of fact.

(3.) FOR the offence under S. 379 I. P C. he hid been sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for three months and the accused had already been in jail for about 25 days before he was released on bail by this court. The conviction of the accused is altered to one under S. 426 I. P. C. , and the sentence is reduced to the period of imprisonment already undergone by him. With this modification the revision petition is dismissed. Dismissed.