SHAMLAL BANIA Vs. THE KING

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner obtained this Rule against an order of conviction passed by a learned Presidency Magistrate convicting the petitioner of having committed an offence punishable under section 504 of the Indian Penal Code and sentencing him to pay a fine of Rs. 30/ - in default to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one month.

(2.) THE accused petitioner is the landlord and the complainant is his tenant. The landlord wished to eject the tenant and the tenant was resisting ejectment. The reeungs between the parties were very strained. It is said that the complainant got a warning notice served on the accused on the morning of the date of the occurrence and that the accused abused, the complainant and thereby committed the offence for which he was convicted. Learned Counsel appearing for the accused petitioner points out that nowhere from the record can it be ascertained what the words used by the accused were. In the judgment the learned Magistrate says that the accused who was the landlord of the complainant abused him filthily in the name of his wife, sister and mother. What the words of abuse were the learned Magistrate does hot mention. The petition of complaint also contains no mention of the terms of the abuse. I have been through the record of the evidence and there also I find that there is no record of the terms of the abuse. The learned Magistrate says that although the complainant did not mention the terms of abuse in the petition of complaint, he did so during his examination -in -chief. The record however does not support this. The words are not mentioned in the evidence of the complainant as recorded by the learned Magistrate. The learned Magistrate in his explanation has not said anything about the words of abuse which are alleged to have been used by the petitioner. There was no charge framed. Now, without knowing what words were used, it is impossible to say whether the accused can be found to have committed an offence punishable under section 504 of the Indian Penal Code. The section is in the following terms: