SATISH KUMAR Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Judicial Magistrate, Nahan, vide his judgment dated 28th September, 1982, convicted the present petitioner for the evidence under section 532 IPC and sentenced him to pay a fine of Rs. 500/or in default to undergo simple imprisonment for two months. The petitioner preferred an apJleal against his conviction and sentence before the Sessions Jude, Nahan, but the same was dismissed. The petitioner now seeks to invoke the revisional jurisdiction of this Court for the quashing of his aforesaid conviction and sentence.

(2.) The prosecution version leading to the conviction of the petitioner may be summarised thus: On 10-8-74 a bus of Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bearing registration No. HPN 180 left Sarhan for Nahan at about 8 a m On the way this bus went out of order with the result that the passengers travelling therein along-with their luggage were stranded on the road. PW Chaman Lal who was employed as Inspector in the HR.T.C. was on duty on that day. PW Karam Chand was the Conductor of the bus No. HPN 180. Both the PW5, that is, Karam Chand and Chaman Lal, proceeded from the spot where the bus went out of order to Sarluig for booking a telephone call for H.R.T.C. office, Nahan, to make arrangements for getting a new bus to pick-up the stranded passengers They reached Sarhan at about 9.45 a m. when they saw another bus No. HPN 286 which bad come from Shimla and was bound to Hardwar via Nahan. Inspector Chaman Lal suggested that the passengers of bus No. BPN 180 may be carried in Bus No. HPN 286 bound for Hardwar and which bad to go via Nahan, the destination of bus No. HPN 180. Bus No. 286 was, however, found fully loaded. The petitioner Satish Ku mar was a bonafide passenger of bus No. HPN 286 in the sense that he had purchased a ticket for travelling in the bus. He was also carrying with him three bags of potatoes which he had got booked in that bus and for which he had obtained the requisite receipt on payment of freight charges. PW Chaman Lal, Inspector, desired that the three bags of potatoes booked by the petitioner and which by then had already been loaded on the top of the bus, he unloaded to accommodate the passengers of bus No: 1 Wand their luggage. The petitioner, however, was not willing to unload his bags of potatoes.

(3.) The further case of the prosecution is that the members of the staff of the H.R.T.C. had shouted calling upon the owner of the potato bags to unload the same but such shouts yielded no response. Ultimately, Chaman Lal Inspector and Karam Chand conductor of bus No. HPN 180 and Hukam, Singh, booking clerk of the H.R.T.C. Sarhan went on the top of the bus to unload the three bags of potatoes. They had already unloaded two bags and were in the process of unloading the third bag when the petitioner coming on the top of the bus and started assaulting the aforesaid person, namely, Karam Chand, Chaman Lal and Hukmi Singh. As a result of such assaults, Chaman Lal inspector, suffered injuries on his fore bead, nose and on his ears.