RABINDRANATH GOUNDA Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This revision is directed against the judgment and order passed by the courts below convicting the petitioner under S. 436 of the Penal Code. Though trial Court imposed sentence of imprisonment for seven years, in appeal the same has been reduced to three years. The trial Court further directed for payment of fine of rupees one thousand out of which rupees eight hundred was directed to be paid to P.W. 4, Kalicharan Panda as compensation and so far as that part of sentence is concerned, the appellate court has not interfered with the same.

(2.) Case of the prosecution is that accused-petitioner is the neighbour of Kalicharan Panda (P.W.4) and they were in inimical terms. On 18-3-1995 at about 10.30 A. M. when wife of P. W. 4 Gitanjali Panda (P.W.5) and sister-in-law Subhalaxmi Sahu (P.W.3) had been to the adjacent bari of their house to pass urine, they saw the accused-petitioner standing on the roof of his house. They further saw that the accused-petitioner lighted a match-stick and threw the same to the roof of their thatched house. It is stated that the match stick got automatically extinguished and the accused-petitioner again lighted a bundle of straw and threw the same to the roof of the house, as a result of which the thatched room started burning. Thereafter P. Ws.3 and 5 ran to the village street and shouted for help. Hearing their shout the villagers came and extinguished the fire. It is also alleged that due to such fire, the informant sustained a loss of rupees one thousand.

(3.) Plea of the accused-petitioner is one of complete denial and in his statement under S. 313, Cr. P. C. he has stated that fire caught from inside the kitchen of P.W. 4 and he had been falsely implicated due to previous enmity.