STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH Vs. LACHHMI SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) State of Himachal Pradesh has preferred this appeal against the acquittal of the accused in a case under section 379 of the Indian Penal Code and sections 41 and 42 of the Indian Forest Act (hereinafter to be referred as "the Act") by the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Nahan, Camp at Rajgarh, While admitting the appeal, on May 10, 1989, Brother Bhatnagar, J. issued notice to the owner of truck No. HPA 6463 calling upon him to show cause as to why the truck in question be not confiscated to the State. He appeared and defended himself through M/s. K. D. Sood and A. K. Goel, Advocates.

(2.) The prosecution case, in brief, is that on January 1, 1936, a complaint Ex. PW 8/B, was sent to the Police Station by Hardev Singh, Block Officer, Forest Department, complaining that he found truck No. HPA 6463 standing on the side of the road with three punctured tyres at Bhujal. On checking of the vehicle, about 40 sleepers of Devdar were found in the truck. They were kept underneath the potato bags which the said truck was carrying at that time. The truck, the potatoes and the timber was taken into possession. The timber had been loaded in the truck from Pulwahal in District Simla. As a consequence of this information, a case under section 379 of the Indian Penal Code and under sections 41 and 42 of the Act was registered. The matter was investigated and the challan against the accused was filed in the Court, In their statement under section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the accused have denied the prosecution case. Their plea appears to be that Deepak Ram (PW -5) wanted to load his timber and on refusal to do so he gave beatings to the occupants of the vehicle besides, fired at the tyres of the truck thereby puncturing three of them. The trial ended in the acquittal of the accused.

(3.) Shri M. S, Guleria, learned Assistant Advocate General, has challenged the decision of acquittal by the trial Judge on various grounds. He submitted that the acquittal of the accused, in the light of sufficient evidence on the record of the case, is absolutely erroneous and, therefore, the decision deserves to be set aside. It was also contended that the accused deserve severe penalty since forests in the State have been cut to a great extent by such like persons thereby not only destroying the forest wealth of the State and the nation but also affecting the whole ecological system. It was also contended that the truck which was involved in the commission of the offence is liable to be confiscated alongwith the timber.