RASH BEHARI SHAW (HANDA) Vs. EMPEROR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants in these appeals are Rash Behari Shaw, Sushil Kumar Ghose, Patal Chandra Santra, Jagadish Singh, Manindra Nath Dey, Babulal Chowkhani, Ganesh Bahadur and Sailendra Nath Mukherji. They together with four other persons, Panchkari Banerji, Kumud Nath Nandy, Sailendra Nath Sanyal, and Harnarian Chatterji were jointly tried before the Chief Presidency Magistrate, Calcutta, and as a result of the trial the present appellants were convicted and sentenced on various charges, and the other four persons were acquitted. All the accused persons were charged with having been parties to a criminal conspiracy to commit theft by dishonest consumption and user of electrical energy belonging to the Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation between the mon January, 1934 and 20 January 1935, and in consequence of such conspiracy theft was committed at the Bharat Laxmi Cinema, at the Jupiter Cinema and at other places. They were charged with being parties to this conspiracy together with, amongst others, three persons, Krishna Chandra Shome, Bholanath Chatterji and Hardwar Singh, who were originally in the position of being accused persons but later were discharged and called as witnesses on behalf of the prosecution. Certain other persons were alleged to be parties to the conspiracy, namely Aswini Kumar Panja, Nanilal Ghose, Md. Abdul Azim and Bhudeb Chandra Seth, all of whom were stated to be absconders at the time of the trial out of which these appeals arise, and they were subsequently arrested, tried and convicted, and the first three of them are the appellants in the supplementary case.

(2.) Against Babulal Chowkhani, who is the proprietor of the Bharat Laxmi Cinema which is situate at No. 2, Chittaranjan Avenue, there was a further charge that between April 1934, at the time when the Cinema was started, and 16 January 1935, he committed theft by dishonest consumption or user of electrical energy belonging to the Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation. Against Sailendra Nath Mukherji, Kumud Nath Nandy and Ganesh Bahadur there was a charge of aiding and a betting Babulal Chowkhani in the commission of the offence of theft of electrical energy belonging to the Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation. Sailendra Nath Mukherji, Rash Behari Shaw, Sushil Kumar Ghose and Jagadish Singh were charged with having aided and abetted Md. Abdul Azim, proprietor of the Jupiter Cinema, in the commission of theft of electrical energy at that Cinema between the month, of February 1934 and 23rd December 1934.

(3.) Put shortly therefore all the 12 persons who were tried together before the Chief Presidency Magistrate were charged with an offence punishable under Section 120-B, I. P. C , read with Section 39, Electricity Act, 1910, and Section 379, I. P. C. Babulal Chowkhani was charged with an offence punishable under Section 39, Electricity Act, 1910, read with Section 379, I. P. C. Sailendra Nath Mukherji, Kumud Nath Nandy and Ganesh Bahadur were charged with an offence punishable under Section 109, I P. C., read with Section 39, Electricity Act, 1910, read with Section 379, I. P. C. Sailendra Nath Mukherji, Rash Behari Shaw, Sushil Kumar Ghose and Jagadish Singh were charged with an offence punishable under Section 109, I. P. C., read with Section 39, Electricity Act, 1910, read with Section 379, I. P. C.