SATYAHARI CHOUDHURY Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this revisional application the petitioner Satyahari Choudhury has prayed for setting aside the order of the Special Judge Birbhum holding that he had jurisdiction to try the petitioner along with the other accused of the case -- 'State v. Fhani Bhusan Das', which was allotted to the Special Judge Birbhum by Government Notification No. 5596 J dated 9-10-1952.

(2.) The facts of the case are briefly as follows: Some plots of land belonging to one Bholanath Gorain were acquired for irrigation purposes by the Land Acquisition Collector, Birbhum. In respect of one of the plots the award happened to be in the name of a fictitious person Tribhanga Murari Das and the amount awarded in respect of that plot was Rs. 1426/3/6. It appears that during the field work in connection with the land acquisition case, the land acquisition amin Phani Bhusan and the land acquisition Kanungo Ramesh Chandra Ghosh reported that though the plot originally belonged to Bholanath Gorain it was purchased by Tribhanga Murari and was in his possession and they prepared the preliminary papers in connection with the land acquisition. The award was based on these papers prepared accordingly by the amin and the kanungo. In Refund Case No. 596 of 1949-50 payment of the award was actually made and it appeared that a revenue agent Lal Monan Das received a cheque for the amount and the petitioner Satyahari, who is a Muktear of the locality, cashed the cheque on 7-2-1951. The fraud was detected when Bholanath filed a petition before the Land Acquisition Collector complaining that he had not received the compensation for the particular plot of land and then it was found that the record of the Refund Case No. 596 of 1949-50 was also missing. The Land Acquisition Collector after a preliminary enquiry sent information to the officer-in-charge of Suri Police Station on 13-10-1951. According to the prosecution case a fraud in respect of the land acquisition money amounting to Rs. 1426/3/6 was committed by the amin Phani "Bhusan and the kanungo Ramesh Chandra Ghosh, the revenue agent Lal Mohan and the Mukhtear Satyahari in conspiracy with one another and also in conspiracy with Gobinda Saran Sadhu who was then the peshkar of the Land Acquisition Collector, Birbhum, and Sachidananda Bhowmik, a peon of the Land Acquisition Department at Birbhum.

(3.) Between 30-11-1951 and 14-8-1952, various accused appeared before the Sub-Divisional Officer, Suri, who granted bail to them. On 14-8-1952, charge sheet was submitted against the six accused including the petitioner Satyahari. The Sub-Divisional Officer then decided that the case was triable exclusively by the Special Court under Act 21 of 1949, the West Bengal Criminal Law Amendment (Special Courts) Act, 1949, as amended by the Amending Act 12 of 1952; and on 20-8-1952, he sent the record to the District Magistrate of Birbhum for taking necessary action. The District Magistrate on 14-10-1952, directed the accused to appear before the Special Judge, Birbhum on 21-10-1952, the Government Notification for allotment of the case having been published in the meantime. As already stated the Government Notification is dated 9-10-1952. On 15-11-1952, the petitioner Satyahari filed a petition before the Special Judge claiming that the Special Judge had no jurisdiction to try the case or at least to try him along with the other accused in the case. The learned Special Judge, after hearing both sides, rejected the petition and held that he had jurisdiction to try the case and tried the petitioner along with the other accused. Against that order this revisional application is directed.