JANARDAN SAHU Vs. ARAKHIT SAHU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a case arising out of Section 22 of the Cattle Trespass Act. 1871. Thereunder the petitioner has been directed to pray Rs 40/- to the complainant and Sansari Sahu and Bula Swain owners of buffaloes towards compensation for the loss caused in releasing buffaloes and incurring cost of litigation in this case the prosecution story, as made out in the evidence and in the petition of complaint, was that on 24-8-64 Natabara Sahu and Chandra Bhuyan Halias of the complainant were tending 5 heads of buffaloes belonging to the complainants sansari Sahu and Bula Swain in anabadi land and at that time the accused Naba, natabara, Kunja, Duruja and Bhima arrived there and seized them from that anabadi land and decided to impound them in kine house. 'they drove the buffaloes to beat house where accused Janardan joined with them and all those accused persons drove the buffaloes to Gopalpur. Kine house and impounded them. On the next day the complainant and Sansari Sahu and Bula Swain rescued the buffaloes from the Kine house after paving a sum of Rs. 27. Hence they filed the complaint alleging that the impounding done by the petitioner and others was illegal and as such they were entitled to compensation as provided in Section 22 of the Cattle Trespass Act. The allegation made by the complainant was denied by the petitioner and his other co-accused companions Further in support of their defence they examined three witnesses. Their case was that these buffaloes were carrying sal logs from the forest and the culprits seeing them ran away leaving the stolen logs and the buffaloes. Accordingly the forest guard impounded the buffaloes in the Gopalpur Kine house.

(2.) THE case was heard by Sri B. B Das, Judicial Magistrate. First Class. Khandapara, circuit at Ranpur. The learned Magistrate on hearing the parties passed the aforesaid order against which the petitioner has now come in revision to this court.

(3.) UNDER Section 11 of the Cattle Trespass Act, 1871, persons authorised to seize, or cause to be seized, any cattle doing damage are the persons in charge of public roads, pleasure grounds, plantations, canals, drainage works, embankment and the like. But in Section 70 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927, there is a deeming clause provided which says: