BANWARILAL Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal by Banwari Lal and Mahendra Nath, who are brothers, from a Judgment of the Additional Sessions Judge of Agra convicting them under Section 420/34 and 379/34 I. P. O. For the offence under Section 420/34 I. P. C. each of them has been sentenced to two years' rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 25,000/- (in default of payment of fine to undergo one year's K.I.) and for the offence under Section 379/34 each of them has been sentenced to two years' B.I. and a fine of Rs. 25,000/- (in default of payment of fine to undergo nine months' R.I.) The sentences for the two offences are to run concurrently.

(2.) The appellants are residents of Khurja where they carry on Ghee business in the name of Ghamandilal Banwarilal. In 1946-1947 they carried on the business of Ghee grading under the name of Mahendra Nath & Co., in a building taken on rent from Mustajab Khan in Raja Ki Mandi in Agra. They had a Ghee grading centre and godowns in the ground-floor of ,the building and lived in the upper floor. They used to borrow money by pledging tins of Ghee with creditors. In the period 14-9-1945 to 20-11-46 they borrowed about a lakh of rupees by pledging tins of Ghee in the godowns which are numbered 20, 24 and 48 from the Bharat Bank Ltd. There were 745 tins in godown No. 20,394 tins in godown No. 24 and 591 tins in godown No. 48; all the godowns being in the groundfloor of the Mustajab building.

(3.) In November 1946, the appellants approached the complainant firm Makhanlal Radheylal, which was owned by Raghunath Prasad, in Agra. Raghunath Prasad was studying in 1946 and the business was carried on by his brother, Amar Nath. The appellants borrowed money from Makhanlal Radheylal in November 1946 and they repaid it on 6-11-46 leaving a negligible balance of Rs. 29/-. On 13-12-46 they approached Amarnath and borrowed from him Rs. 22,000 /- on the security of 394 tins in godown No. 24 which had already been pledged with Bharat Bank Ltd.,) after executing a document Ex. P. 6. It was agreed between the appellants & the firm that tins containing pure Ghee would be pledged as security that 75 per cent of the price of the tins would be advanced on the security and that the money would be repaid within twenty four hours of the demand.