SANKAR BEHERA Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE two petitioners were convicted under Section 395, Indian Penal Code, by sri K. S. Misra, Assistant Sessions Judge, Balasore, in Sessions Trial No. 40/3/6 of 1964-65. Petitioner No. 1 was sentenced to R. I. for two years and petitioner No. 2 to undergo R. I. for four years. On appeal, the conviction and sentence of the petitioners were maintained by Sri G. K. Misra, Sessions Judge, Balasore, in criminal Appeal No. 129/65 by his judgment dated 1-8-66.

(2.) THERE were 16 accused persons put on trial of whom only these two petitioners were convicted and sentenced as aforesaid.

(3.) THE prosecution case is that on the night of 18t'h February 1964, or in the small hours of the morning of 19th February, the two petitioners and a number of others entered the Khamar house of P. W. 1 in their attempt to loot the paddy stocked on the threshing floor. This dacoity was a pre-planned one and P. W. 2, the informant, being aware of this plan which had been decided in a meeting on the evening previous to the day of occurrence, informed the police party and brought them to the place of occurrence in time to prevent the accused persons from successfully committing the offence of dacoity. The further story of the prosecution is that while the accused persons were actually on the threshing floor of P. W. 1 and were engaged in the act of filling up the gunny bags with paddy, P. W. 2 arrived there suddenly accompanied by the police patrol party consisting of P. W. 13, the Havildar and P. W. 14, an Assistant sub-Inspector of Police. P. W. 13 who was armed with a gun fired a shot which chopped off a number of fingers of petitioner 1. F. I. R. was lodged on 19-2-64 at bensada police station which is at a distance of about two miles from the place of occurrence. The F. I. R. contains only the names of these two petitioners and there was no mention of names of the other accused persons as they could not be identified.