BOTLAL Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner was charge-sheeted before the Judicial Magistrate, Ist Class, Jawad, for an offence under S. 457, IPC. The prosecution case is that the petitioner committed lurking house-trespass by night in order to commit theft in the house of Gopal s/o Kajodji and he was convicted by the trial Court and sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for one year, while two other accused Prakash and Ghanshyam have been acquitted. On appeal the sentence has been reduced to six months rigourous imprisonment by the Addl. Sessions Judge, Neemuch. He has come in revision before this Court against that judgment.

(2.) Apart from other grounds, the petitioner has urged that he was of 19 years age at the time of commission of the offence and should have been given the benefit of Probation of Offenders Act. The appellate Court wrongly rejected his prayer for being released on probation, for which he had placed sufficient material on record.

(3.) In order to bring home the charge, the prosecution is required to prove that the accused committed lurking house-trespass, that the same was committed after sunset and before sunrise and the same was committed, in order to commit an offence; in the instant case, the petitioner is charged to have committed theft.