BHANWAR LAL Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This revision petition is directed against the judgment dated 09-06-1994, passed by the Special Judge, S.C./S.T. (Prevention of Atrocities) Cases, Udaipur, by which the learned Special Judge dismissed the appeal filed by the accused- petitioner and maintained the judgment dated 11-08-1992, passed by the Munsif and Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Vallabhnagar, by which the learned Magistrate convicted and sentenced the accused-petitioner for the offences under Sections 457 and 380 IPC.

(2.) Accused-petitioner Bhanwar Lal was tried by the learned Munsif and Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Vallabhnagar, for the offences under Sections 457 and 380 Penal Code for committing a theft in the house of one Ratan Lal in the intervening night of 314th June, 1992. The case of the prosecution is that Ratan Lal and his wife were sleeping in the Court-yard of their house. At about 3.00 AM, his wife heard the sound of opening the doors. On hearing the sound, she got-up and saw four persons inside the house. She raised an alarm and on hearing the alarm, complainant Ratan Lal, also, got-up and seeing this all the four persons ran away after scaling over the wall. The complainant raised an alarm and on hearing the alarm, PW 4 Daulat Ram, PW 3 Dal Chand, PW 2 Mangi Lal Bhandari and other persons collected there. The lock of the Bhakhari was found broken and on search it was noticed that one small attached and one big box were found missing. Certain other valuable articles and some cash were, also, found missing. The villagers followed the accused persons and the accused-appellant was apprehended while the other remaining accused ran away. The prosecution, in support of its case, examined eight witnesses. The accused did not examine any witness in his defence. The learned Magistrate, after trial, convicted the accused-petitioner for the offences under Sections 457 and 380 Penal Code and sentenced him to two years' rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 500.00 and in default of payment of fine further to undergo one month's simple imprisonment on each counts. Both the sentences were ordered to run concurrently. Dissatisfied with the judgment dated 11-08-1992, passed by the learned Magistrate, the accused preferred an appeal, which was dismissed by the learned Special Judge, S.C./S.T. (Prevention of Atrocities) Cases, Udaipur, by his judgment dated 09-06-1994. It is against this judgment that the accused-petitioner has preferred this revision petition.

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner did not challenged the conviction of the accused-petitioner for the offences under Sections 457 and 380 Penal Code and has submitted that the petitioner has suffered the harassment for the last about two years and the articles of theft recovered from him two/three clothes, one Saari and the two currency notes of Rs. 100.00 each and as such, looking to the facts and circumstances of the case, the ends of justice will be met if the sentence passed by the learned trial Court is reduced to the period of imprisonment already undergone by the accused as he has already undergone about eight months twenty- four days' imprisonment. The learned Public Prosecutor, on the other hand, has submitted that the petitioner does not deserve any leniency.