STATE OF H.P. Vs. ALAF DEEN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY this appeal, State of Himachal Pradesh has challenged the judgment of the trial Magistrate, whereby the respondent, who had been sent up for trial for offences punishable under Section 379 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 41 and 42 of the Indian Forest Act, has been acquitted.

(2.) PROSECUTION case, as per record, may be summed up thus. On the night intervening 3rd/4th April, 1988 respondent went to a forest depot within the jurisdiction of Police Station, Amb where timber of Lot No. 4, belonging to H.P. Forest Corporation, had been stacked. He allegedly loaded 80 logs of 'Chil', 10 cubic meters of pulp-wood, 20 sleepers and three pieces of logs in his truck on the number plate of which letters 'HIU AF' were written. The aforesaid stolen forest produce was carried to Ludhiana, where the truck with the produce loaded therein, was spotted by Whether reporters of the local papers may be allowed to see the judgment? PW-5 Rajinder Singh, Assistant Manager of H.P. Forest Corporation, on 4.4.1988 at 7.00 a.m. PW-5 Rajinder Singh, accompanied by Rakesh Kumar, DRO and Govind Ram, Peon, was present at Ludhiana that day to conduct raids to detect theft and illicit transportation of timber from Himachal Pradesh to Punjab. When the truck was sought to be got stopped by Rajinder Singh, the respondent, who was driving it, ran away from the spot. Rajinder Singh then reported the matter to the police of Police Chowk Basantpur Ludhiana. The police of the said Police Station informed all the police check posts through wireless message and directed them to intercept the truck, in question. However, the truck was not found anywhere. Around 1.00 in the after-noon the stolen produce, bearing hammer mark of Lot No. 4 of H.P. Forest Corportation, was found behind one industry at Ludhiana. The same was taken into possession. S.D.M. Una was informed about the recovery of the aforesaid produce. On 8.4.1988 report was lodged with the police of Police Station, Amb in Una District about the theft of the aforesaid forest produce from the concerned depot, by PW-3 Anjani Kumar, Assistant Manager, Nehri Forest Corporation. The timber that was recovered by Ludhiana Police was identified to belong to the concerned depot by Anjani Kumar (PW-3), Kashmir Singh (PW-4) and Neelam Kumar (PW-6).

(3.) I have heard the learned Additional Advocate General for the appellant ­ State and the learned counsel for the respondent and also gone through the record.