DEVI PRASAD SHARMA Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this petition in revision as well as in Cr. Revs. Nos. 415, 416, 417, 756, 757, 758 and 759 of 1965, common questions of law and facts are involved and that this is the reason why they have been grouped together. All the petitions can be disposed of by a common order by me.

(2.) THE Petitioners in all the petitions were convicted under one or the other of Sections 409, 120 -B or 477 -A of the IPC and were awarded various sentences by the trial Magistrate. There were a number of appeals filed before the Sessions Judge by the Petitioners. The Sessions Judge allowed all the appeals set aside the conviction of the Petitioners but directed that the cases be sent back to the trial court for retrial.

(3.) THE grounds on which the learned Sessions Judge set aside the orders of conviction passed by the trial Magistrate in all the cases are only two fold. The first ground is that the charges framed by the learned Magistrate against the accused were defective and incorrect in material particulars and the second ground is that appropriate questions were not put to the accused Under Section 342 Code of Criminal Procedure. According to the learned Sessions Judge, this defect in the charge and interrogation of the accused Under Section 342 Code of Criminal Procedure vitiated the entire trial and the order of conviction passed by the trial Magistrate was for that reason liable to be set aside.