MUTHUVEDI AMMAL Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners were convicted for an offence under Section 426, I.P.C., and sentenced to pay a fine of Rs. 25 each which was reduced in appeal to Rs. 15.

(2.) The case against these petitioners was as follows. There was a quarrel on the 11th of September 1948 between the first petitioner and the daughter-in-law of P. W. 1. In order to wreak vengeance on P. W. 1's family, the first petitioner asked the second petitioner to demolish the compound wall of the house belonging to P. W. 1's son and the latter accordingly demolished the same to a height of 3 feet and to a length of 24 feet, causing thereby damage to the extent of Rs. 10 or 15. The guilt of the petitioners was proved beyond all reasonable doubt by the evidence of P. Ws. 1, 2 and 3. The trial Court has accepted their evidence and convicted the petitioners as stated above.

(3.) In this revision petition the correctness of the conviction could not be challenged. The only point that was raised by Mr. Raghavan, the learned counsel for the petitioner is that the conviction of the petitioners is unsustainable, as it is based on a complaint by P. W. 1, who is not the owner of the house to the compound wall of which damage was caused but the father of the owner. According to him, a prosecution under Section 426, LP.C., can only be launched on the complaint of a person, who is the owner of the property concerned or any other person who is beneficially entitled thereto.