BIRDHA Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE are two appeals by Birdha and others from the judgment of the additional sessions Judge of Kishangarh dated the 28th of October, 1957, convicting the four appellants under Section 333 I. P. C. and sentencing Devkaran Sahadev and birdha to 2 years" rigorous imprisonment each and Sarwan to 6 months rigorous imprisonment.

(2.) THE prosecution case was that Johari P. W. 1 was a Forest Guard having protected forest of Mohanpura under him. On the 25th of October, 1956, he went to village Khatoli from Kishangarh and on his way back he passed through the protected forest of Mohanpua-ki-ghati at about 10 a. m. He saw cattle grazing in the protected forest and as no cattle were allowed to graze in that area he tried to round them up. The accused Devkaran and others drove the cattle outside the boundaries of the protected forest in order to prevent their seizure. Devkaran then grappled with Johari and made him fall down on the ground. He sat of the forepart of Johari's body and by that time the other accused persons Birdha, Sarwan and shadev who were also with the cattle, came near them. They were asked by devkaran to beat Johari and they accordingly started beating him by sticks and hit several blows on his legs. Suwa Jat, Suwa Regar and Ganga Singh happened to come there from different directions and when they saw Johari being beaten by the accused they raised an alarm and challenged the accused persons, who thereupon, left Johari and ran away. Johari was then made to sit on a pole and carried by Suwa Jat, Gangasingh and others to a place called "nariya Nada' from where he was taken to Yagya narain Hospital, Kishangarh where he was admitted as an indoor patient. Harish Chander, Forest Ranger, Kishangarh having come to know about the beating given to Johari went to see him at the hospital, and after enquiring from him lodged the first information report at the Police Station, Kishangarh, in which devkaran, Birdha and Sarean were named as the accused and one more person was stated to have taken part in the beating, whose name Johari did not know. The police took up the investigation and arrested Devkaran and three others. On medical examination, the doctor suspected that one of the bones of Johari's leg was fractured. He, therefore, sent him for X-ray examination to Ajmer, and it was confirmed by the X-ray examination that one of the bones of his leg had been broken. The police challaned all the four accused appellants to the Court of the sub-Divisional Magistrate, Kishangarh, who committed them to session, to stand their trial under Section 333 I. P. C.

(3.) THE defence of the accused was that Johari went to Devkaran in the field of jairam in village Sardarsingh-ki-dhani and demanded money for drinks and on devkaran refusing to comply with the demand, he grappled with him. The cattle of the accused were driven away by Suwa Jat. The accused did not admit that their cattle had trespassed into the protected forest or that they gave a beating to johari,