ISWAR CHANDRA KAMILA Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner Iswar Chandra Kamila who is a Bhagchasi in respect of certain land was convicted under Sec. 14 of the West Bengal Bargadars Act. 1950, and sentenced to a fine of Rs. 100.00 or in default of payment of the fine to rigorous imprisonment for one month. The facts which are not in dispute are briefly as follows: On the 12th of November, 1955 Barendra Maity, a Jotedar in respect of certain plots of land, applied to the Chairman of the Bhagchas Board of Union No. 16 of Contai Police Station alleging that Iswar Chandra Kamila, a Bargadar in respect of the plots in question who had cultivated the plots during the current year, i.e., 1362 B.S. was conspiring to remove by force the paddy grown. and the straw and if he succeeded in doing that, the applicant would be put to serious loss and as Iswar Chandra was extremely poor it would be impossible for him to recover his share of the produce from him. He also alleged that in the year preceding the same Bargadar cultivated the major part of the land and. in spite of a direction from the Board that he should reap the paddy and stock it in the presence of a member of Bhagchas Board, removed the paddy and the straw according to his own sweet will and a case was pending in respect of that. Barendra accordingly prayed that an order should be passed by the Board regarding the reaping, thrashing etc. and the distribution of the paddy for the year. On this petition the Board passed an order on the 12th of November", 1955 prohibiting the reaping of paddy on the land in question without the knowledge of the Bhagchas Board. Iswar Chandra Kamila appeared before the Bhagchas Board on the 3rd of Dec., 1955 and after hearing both the parties the Board passed the order which is Ex. 1. The order may be translated as follows:

(2.) On receipt of the notice of the Board Sri Iswar Chandra Kamilai Bhagehasi is present. The defendant made a proposal that he would appear before the Board 3 days before the reaping of the paddy and take a member of the Board with him to the spot. He is accordingly given a direction to that effect.

(3.) The case for the prosecution now is that in spite of this direction Iswar Chandra Kamila without appearing before the Board and without taking a member of the Bhagchas Board with him to the spot went to the spot un-accompanied by any member of the Board and reaped the paddy from the scheduled lands in violation of the order of the Bhagchas Board and he has been charged under Sec. 14 of the West Bengal Bargadars Act. The defence of the petitioner was that he was not guilty and that he had not reaped the paddy. The Court however found that he had reaped the paddy and as he did so in violation of the order passed, he committed the offence under Sec. 14. The learned trying Magistrate in convicting the petitioner had to deal with the question whether the order contravened was an order under the Act and this is also the only point raised before me on behalf of the petitioner.