STATE OF GUJARAT Vs. SOMA JIVA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The State has come in appeal against the order passed by the Judicial Magistrate First Class Bulsar acquitting all the eight respondents before me of the charge of having committed the offences under Rule 132(2)(d) and 132(2)(e) of the Defence of India Rules 1962 The short facts regarding the prosecution case may be stated :- It will be convenient to refer to the respondents in this judgment by their original serial numbers as accused before the trial Court.

(2.) Excepting accused Nos. 3 and 5 the rest of the accused are closely related. Accused No. 1 is the husband of accused No. 6 and accused No. 4 is their son. Accused Nos. 4 and 7 are husband and wife and accused No. 2 is their son. Accused No. 8 is the brothers daughter of accused No. 1. It is alleged by the prosecution that these accused persons were residing at village Bhadeli Jaglala of Bulsar District. Accused No. 3 is a resident of village Korlai in Murud Taluka of Kolaba District and accused No. 5 is a resident of village Kosamba of Bulsar District.

(3.) Police Sub-Inspector R. V. Bhatt in charge of the Bulsar Police Station received information on the 10th of June 1965 that a large hoard of small coins was made in the house of accused No. 1 at Bhadeli Jaglala. He therefore raided and searched the house of accused No. 1 at about midnight. He had taken two persons of the village to act as Panchas and had also kept with him other police constables. The doors of the house were found locked from within and accused No. 1 was awakened and made to open the doors. According to the prosecution besides accused No. 1 accused Nos. 2 3 and 6 to 8 were in the house. On examination of the floor of the room it was noticed that the dung plaster of the floor in some part near the eastern wall was freshly made. He ordered that the said place may be dug and it was found that there was a pit containing 120 bags. 68 of the bags were found to contain 25 paise coins and the remaining 52 contained 50 paise coins. A panchnama was drawn up and the bags were taken away to Bulsar Police Station. The bags were then weighed in the morning on the 11th of June 1965 and it was estimated that the coins in the bags collectively amounted to Rs. 3 60 35 A second panchnama in this respect was also made. Thereafter the first information of the offence was lodged. Accused were then arrested on different dates. It is alleged that on the 12th of June 1965 a search of the house of accused No. 5 was taken and a machine operated vessel was attached. On the 27th of June 1965 P. S. I. Bhatt received further information that one more bag containing coins was burried at some distance from the house of accused No. 1. Thereupon P. S. I. Bhatt went to the place and recovered that bag containing 25 paise coins aggregating to the amount of Rs. 2300/and odd. A panchnama of this find was also made. Some of the coins were sent for testing to the Mint Master and he reported that the specimen coins of 25 paise and 50 paise were genuine coins. It is disclosed in the evidence that the investigation also further revealed that certain persons had shipped the coins in the vessel of accused No. 5 and the cargo was intended to be smuggled out of India. However as the boat carrying the cargo developed some mechanical defect its course had to be changed and the cargo had to be unloaded and brought to the house of accuse No. 1. It would therefore appear that it was intended that all these bags of small coins were to be kept in the house of accused No. 1 till it was possible to again load the vessel after it was repaired and fit enough to resume the voyage. In short therefore the charge was against the accused that they had acquired and possessed small coins in excess of their personal and business requirements for the time being.