STATE Vs. YASHVIR GUPTA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) YASHVIR Gupta accused respondent was brought to trial before the Judicial Magistrate 1st Class, Batala, on a charge under section 135 of the Customs Act, 1962 (for short, the Act) and he was convicted thereunder and sentenced to 6 months rigorous imprisonment. On appeal, the Additional Sessions Judge, Gurdaspur, upheld his conviction but released him on probation to keep peace and be of good behaviour for a period of one year under section 4 (1) (a) of the Probation of Offenders Act. The State has now come up in revision,

(2.) IT is unnecessary to recount the facts. The main plank of the argument advanced by the learned counsel for the petitioners is that the learned Additional Sessions Judge has passed the order releasing the accused respondent on probation in violation of the mandatory provisions of Section 140 -A of the Act, which specifically provides that the benefit of probation under the Criminal Procedure Code or under the Probation of Offenders Act cannot be given to a person convicted for an offence under the Customs Act and, therefore, the respondent should be adequately punished. I regret my inability to accept this contention. It is now here provided that this provision shall be enforced with retrospective effect. The offence was committed by the accused on 4.6 1970 where as Section 140 -A was inserted in the Act with effect from 18.12.1972. Since the offence was committed at a time when Section 140 -A was not on the statute book and there was no prohibition against giving the benefit of probation to a person convicted of an offence under the Act, the learned Additional Sessions Judge was not unjustified on the facts and circumstances of the present case in releasing the respondent on probation.

(3.) FOR this reasons the revision petition is dismissed.