SK KHABIRUDDIN Vs. EMPEROR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal against conviction and sentence on a charge of dacoity. The appellant Sk. Khabiruddin and three others were placed on their trial before the f Sessions Judge of Midnapore on a charge of dacoity. The jury returned a unanimous verdict in respect of all four accused. They found two accused Sk. Hinu and Sk. Sham, sher not guilty, and they found the remain, ing two accused Sk. Khabiruddin and Sk. Abdul guilty of the offence of dacoity. The learned Sessions Judge accepted the unanimous verdict, acquitted the accused Sk. Hinu and Sk. Shamsher, convicted Sk. Khabiruddin and Sk. Abdul of the offence of dacoity, and sentenced each of them under Section 395, Indian Penal Code, to suffer rigorous imprisonment for four years. Sk. Khabiruddin is the sole appellant 9 in this appeal.

(2.) The case for the prosecution is as follows: There was a dacoity in the house of Amarendra Nath Roy of Satdubi within the jurisdiction of Keshpur Police Station at about 1 A. M. on Sunday 20 April 1942. The inmates were violently assaulted and valuable articles were stolen. Amarendra Nath Roy was roused from sleep by hearing the noise made by the dacoits. He got up and saw a number of people whispering together in his courtyard. He at first mistook them for members of the village defence party and sought their assistance. These men were & however among the dacoits and took part in the dacoity.

(3.) There is in that locality a village defence party consisting of 61 members. These 64 members are divided into four groups, each with 16 members. The four accused who were on their trial in this case all belonged to one of the groups - the group which had as its leader Sk. Abdul of Chechura. It was the turn of this group for night duty on the night of the dacoity, but only four of the sixteen members of the group reported for duty. Sk. Abdul found it impossible under the circumstances to carry out the duty imposed upon his group. He, therefore, visited the leaders of the other three groups and consulted them. They decided to visit the houses of all the absent members of the group headed by Sk. Abdul and call them to their duty. Accordingly, they went to the houses of the various members of Sk. Abdul's group. They found the four accused persons absent from home that night, as also two others of the group. They thereupon decided to keep a watch on the houses of these six members until the members returned home. Accordingly, a watch was placed on the house of Sk. Khabiruddin and on the houses of the other five members. Khabiruddin was seen returning to his house sometime before dawn. He was challenged, but he turned and fled. Others were seized on their return to their respective homes. Later, Khabiruddin also returned home. The leader of his group went to Khabiruddin's home, called out Khabiruddin, arrested him, took him to the house of one Masun, where the other missing members had been taken. It is then alleged that these men confessed that they had taken part in the dacoity in the house of Amarendra Nath Roy. Khabiruddin confessed that he had concealed his share of the booty under the weeds of Pirpukur tank. Khabiruddin was taken to the tank and he produced from the water underneath the weeds a bundle containing stolen property. Stolen property was also recovered from other members of this group, who confessed that they had taken part in the dacoity.