NAZAR MOHAMMAD Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a rule issued against the Magistrate of the district of Amritsar to show cause why the conviction and the sentence passed on the petitioner Nazar Mohammad be not set aside. I have had considerable difficulty in this case because the petitioner is not familiar either with English or with Urdu and the only languages which he knows are Persian and Pashto. My own knowledge of Persian is nil and my knowledge of Pashto is very imperfect. I therefore had to take the help of Doctor Camphor, a Dental Surgeon in this place, who was called in to interpret what the petitioner had to say, and I must say I received a considerable amount of assistance from this gentleman and I feel obliged to him for having interrupted his practice and for coming to this Court to give me assistance in the administration of justice,

(2.) THE petitioner is an Afghan subject from Kandhar and he came from Pakistan to the Attari border of India on 19-12-1951 at about 1-10 p. m. He placed his box and his bedding on the counter of the Land Customs Officer for the purposes of baggage examination at what is called the Attari Road Land Customs Station. According to D. P. Dewan P. W. 2 he was given a form, which is in English, to fill up and as he was ignorant of English language he was asked to take the assistance of Baikunth Nath P. W. 3 who seems to practice the filling up of forms of persons not knowing English, and although he has no official status he seems to do so with, the knowledge and permission of the Customs authorities. The form which is Ex. P. A. was filled in and with regard to various articles mentioned therein answers are given in English. The signature at the bottom appears to be of Nazar Mohammad. The question whether it is signed by Nazar mohammad or not has not been raised or pressed before me and it may be presumed for the purposes of argument that it is signed by Nazar Mohammad, the petitioner.

(3.) ACCORDING to the evidence of P. W. 2 D. P. Dewan -- Magistrate should take down the full name of witnesses rather than mere initials -- he (the witness) does not know either Pashto or persian Language. The form was given to Nazar Mohammad but D. P. Dewan admits that he never explained anything to him although he says that he told him (the petitioner) to write up everything which was with him. Although at the frontier they have got an Inspector, Balwant singh, who knows Pashto Language he was unfortunately not present at the time when Nazar mohammad came to the Customs Station, nor was he called because for some reason or another d. P. Dewan did not think it necessary to call a man who knew the language of the, petitioner and he satisfied himself by referring the petitioner to Baikunth Nath who was as ignorant of pashto or Persian as he himself was. This witness P. W. 2 also stated that persons who cannot read the English Language are generally told to put in the form everything that they possess but there is no rule which casts the duty of telling a traveller as to what is dutiable and what is not. A list of dutiable goods is according to this witness exhibited in the hall, but this list has not been produced and there is merely the ipse dixit of D. P. Dewan who states that there is such a list. It is not clear whether this list is in English or in Urdu or in Pashto or in Persian.