AMARENDRA KUMAR YADAV Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS application is directed against the judgment of the Additional Sessions Judge, Monghyr, convicting the petitioner under Section 3 of the Railway Stores (Unlawful Possession) Act. 1955 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') and sentencing him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year, The petitioner was also convicted under Section 379 of the Indian Penal Code, but no separate sentence was recorded on this count.

(2.) THE prosecution case was that on the 13th May 1965. Paramhans Narain Singh, Havildar, along with Mundrika Sah (P. W. 2), both of the Railway Protection Force, had gone to a place between Pasraha and Narainpur Railway Stations where a goods train had been derailed and the Down passenger train No. 444 was standing. THE time was 8 P.M. when they came near the first class compartment of the passenger train, they found the petitioner inside that compartment. On seeing them, the petitioner is said to have behaved in a suspicious manner. THEse two persons went inside the compartment and found that the covering of one of the berths of the compartment had been freshly removed. Near him was lying a bundle which, on being opened, was found to contain rexine of the dimension of 3 cubits x 1 cubits besides other cloths. THE petitioner on being questioned gave out a wrong name, but later he disclosed his identity. On these allegations. Paramhans Narain Singh (P. W. 1) made the report (Exhibit 1) and produced the petitioner along with the seized articles before Blhpur G.R.P. Police Station where the A.S.I. (Swami Nath Prasad). drew up a formal first information report. THE investigation was done by Swami Nath Prasad and he on the 15th May 1965, handed over charge of the case to Abdul Hasan Khan, Officer in charge of the G.R.P. (P. W. 3) who submitted chargesheet.

(3.) ON behalf of the petitioner, Mr. A.K. Saran has vehemently argued that on the evidence on record, conviction under Section 3 of the Act and under Section 379 of the Indian Penal Code cannot be sustained. In support of this contention, reliance has been placed upon the definition of "railway stores" as given in Section 2 of the Act. Section 2 says that "Railway Stores" means any article.