STATE Vs. ABDUL GHANI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a Govt. Appeal against the order and judgment dated 7-61972 of the Civil and Sessions Judge, Jaunpur in Cr. Appeal No. 1 of 1972 by which he allowed the appeal and set aside the order of the Magistrate convicting the respondent Abdul Ghani under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act and sentencing him to two years' R. I.

(2.) THE facts giving rise to this appeal briefly stated are as follows : The respondent Abdul Ghani had entered India in 1954 on the basis of a Pakistani passport which was valid for a period of two months. He did not return back. On 3-2-1967 S. I, Ram Chandra Singh arrested him for his over-staying in India and lodged a written report at police station Chandwak on the basis of which the respondent was duly prosecuted. It is not disputed that he was originally a resident of village Barauti, P. S. and district Jaunpur before the migrated to Pakistan. During the pendency of the trial, a declaration of the Central Government was made under the Citizenship Act by the order dated 14-2-1969 that the respondent had acquired citizenship of Pakistan after 25-1-1950. It has, therefore, got to be emphasised that he had not migrated to Pakistan prior to 25-1-1950. In the application for obtaining passport, he had shown that he had migrated to Pakistan on 2-10-1950. Even this much has been disputed by the respondent. However, the fact remains that he was declared a Pakistani citizen on the definite finding that he migrated to Pakistan after Jan. 25, 1950.

(3.) THE defence was that the respondent was never a Pakistani national and had not migrated to Pakistan and that the prosecution witnesses had deposed against him in this respect due to enmity. He had examined five witnesses in de-fence to show that he remained in India throughout. The learned Magistrate did not accept the defence case and held that the respondent was a Pakistani national and had committed an offence under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act read with para. 7 of the Foreigners Order, 1948, by over-staying in India.