GOKARAN Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a reference made by the learned Sessions Judge of Sitapur for setting aside the conviction of Gokaran who has been convicted under Section 379, I. P. C. and sentenced to a fine of Rs. 20/- for the theft of a 'razai'.

(2.) BIRBAL, Gokaran, Sahu and Bhallar were the four persons originally charged. All except gokaran have been acquitted. The learned. Magistrate tried the case because according to him bhallar had been previously convicted and consequently by reason of Section 59 of the U. P. Panchayat Raj Act the offence was not triable by a Panchayati Adalat. The learned Sessions judge was of the opinion that the trial was not beyond the cognizance of the Panchayati Adalat because only one of the accused persons was a previous convict at the most and even with regard to him there was no evidence on the record to show that he was in fact a person who had been convicted to three years or more imprisonment. He was also of the opinion that once the Court had come to the conclusion that that person, namely, Bhallar was not guilty, it should have held its hand and transferred the case to the Panchayati Adalat because at least without the presence of Bhallar among the accused the Panchayati Adalat had jurisdiction.

(3.) SECTION 59 of the U. P. Panchayat Raj Act excludes from the jurisdiction of Panchayati adalats any offence in which the accused " (a) has been previously convicted of an offence with imprisonment of either description for a term of three years or more". What is excluded from the jurisdiction of the Panchayati Adalat is the cognizance of the offence not against any particular individual but of the whole offence. In the present case the allegation was that four persons jointly committed the offence of theft. One of those persons has been sentenced on a previous conviction to more than 3 years' imprisonment as is proved by an affidavit filed in this Court which is not challenged by the learned counsel for the applicant. The Panchayati Adalat had, therefore, no jurisdiction to take cognizance of the offence at all and could not hold the trial.