LAL SINGH Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a criminal revision petition by Lal Singh, Sat Pal Singh and Narsi Ram, all in the service of the Railway Protection Force (R.P.F.) as constables at the time of alleged incident. They were each convicted on September 29, 1986 for the offence Under Section 3, Railway Property (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1966, by Special Railway Magistrate, Ambala and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for one year and a fine of Rs. 100/ - or in default of payment of fine, further rigorous imprisonment for one month. Their appeals were dismissed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Ambala, on December 12, 1987.

(2.) THE prosecution story is that on the night intervening 22nd and 23rd April, 1980, Ram Bihari Pathak, Shiv Kumar Sharma, Assistant Sub Inspectors, Brij Lal and Narender Jha, Constables of R.P.F., were on patrol duty near the I.O.W. gate of the Railway Workshop, Jagadhari. They noticed that a man in uniform was standing near the wall of the B.T.C. gate of the workshop and some heavy goods were being passed over from inside the boundary wall of the workshop. They saw that one gunny bag containing heavy goods was passed outside from over the wall. The patrol party watched the incident concealing its presence and thereafter, also noticed that two persons came out after scaling the boundary wall. The patrol party rushed to that place. The three accused persons were seen by the members of the patrol party and were identified but all the three accused persons succeeded in running away from the spot. They left behind the two gunny bags, which contained burnt aluminium wires. One bag weighed 23 Kgs. and the other 18 Kgs. The incident was reported to Bhisham Singh, Sub Inspector, who visited the spot and after preparing memo Ex.P -3, took into his custody the two gunny bags containing burnt aluminium wires. The gunny bags were sealed. The three accused persons were arrested the same night. The seized wires were produced before Ram Lal Assistant Shop Superintendent, who affirmed that the wires were the property of the Indian Railways.

(3.) THE prosecution examined, before charge, two witnesses Ram Lal and Brij Lal, Constables. Charge under Section 3, Railway Property (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1966, was framed against all the three accused persons, who pleaded not guilty. Thereafter, Ram Lal and Brij Lal were again produced in the court for further examination and three more witnesses, namely, Shiv Kumar, Assistant Sub Inspector, Narendra Jha, Constable and Bhisham Singh, Sub Inspector, were examined. Investigation had been conducted by Sub Inspector Bhisham Singh. He also stated in his evidence that all the three accused had made extra judicial confessions before him on April 23, 1980. The accused persons, in their statements under Section 313, Code of Criminal Procedure, denied the prosecution story and instead put -forward the plea that they had strained relations with Constable Brij Lal and Narender Jha and, therefore, a false case was framed against them. No witness was, however, produced by the accused persons in their defence.