BAJJAN LAL Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) - The prosecution case in brief is that on 8.9.94, Shri R.S. Yadav, Sub Divisional Officer; ASI Ram Narain of Vigilance Cell, Shri Zile Singh, Junior Engineer and Shri Mohinder Singh, ALM checked the tubewell premises of the petitioner (accused) and found the petitioner (accused) pilfering electricity through artificial means namely by direct connection from the mains of the Haryana State Electricity Board. Case FIR No. 738 dated 19.9.94 under section 379 Indian Penal Code read with section 39 of the Electricity Act was registered at PS Sadar Gurgaon by ASI Jai Narain against the petitioner on the basis of letter Ex.PA dated 14.9.94 written by SDO Shri R.S. Yadav in this behalf to the police.

(2.) AFTER investigation, petitioner was challaned. Accused was charged; under section 379. Indian Penal Code read with Section 39 of the Electricity Act by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Gurgaon. Accused pleaded not guilty to the charge and claimed trial. On the conclusion of the trial, learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Gurgaon found the charge proved against the accused. He accordingly convicted him thereunder and sentenced him to undergo RI for one year and to pay fine of Rs. 500/-; in default of payment of fine to undergo further RI for one month vide order dated 3/8.10.97.

(3.) I have gone through the judgments of the two courts below and I am in perfect agreement with them that the accused ought to have been convicted and he was convicted. I do not find any infirmity or illegality in the appreciation of evidence by them. Faced with this situation, learned counsel for the petitioner did not assail conviction on any ground whatever and in my opinion quite rightly. PW2 Shri R.S. Yadav, SDO, HSEB, Pataudi stated that on 8.9.94 he was posted as SDO, HSEB, Badshahpur. That day, he along with ASI Ram Narain, Zile Singh, JE, Vigilance and Mohinder Singh ALM went to Kadarpur and found electric energy being pilfered by the accused by direct connection from the LT line. Zile Singh PW3, JE HSEB, Badshahpur stated that on 8.9.94, he along with SDO, HSEB, Badshahpur and Vigilance party went to the tubewell of the accused for checking and found that accused was running electric motor by putting direct wire on the LT line unauthorisedly. PW6 Mohinder Singh ALM supported the aforesaid PWs. Feeling that the case against the accused is quite hard and he was justifiably convicted, the learned counsel has prayed for leniency. He submitted that the accused is 95 years old and he is poor. He has been leading a good course of conduct before. He is in the evening of life and his legs are in the grave. He should be given the benefit of the provisions of Probation of Offenders Act, 1958. Keeping in view that the petitioner is extremely old and has been leading good course of conduct before and he is in the evening of his life, I feel he should not be sent to jail but released on probation of good conduct under section 4 of the Probation of Offenders Act, 1958. So, the sentence of imprisonment passed upon the accused is set aside and he is ordered to be released on probation of good conduct under section 4 of the Probation of Offenders Act, 1958 on his furnishing personal bond and surety bond in the sum of Rs. 5,000/- for a period of 2 years. During this period, the petitioner shall keep the peace and be of good behaviour. He shall appear and receive sentence as and when called upon during this period. Petitioner shall pay Rs. 20,000/- to the Haryana State Electricity Board as compensation. Fine, if paid, shall be the cost of the proceedings to the State. Rs. 20,000/- shall be deposited by him in the coffers of the HSEB.