Padmini Jesudurai, J. - (1.) The complainant, who had filed a private complaint against respondents 1 to 13 for offences under sections 147, 148, 342, 384 and 395 Indian Penal code, tried by the Assistant Sessions Judge, Cuddalore, who had acquitted all the respondents, has filed the present appeal against the acquittal.
(2.) The gravamen of the charge against the respondents was that on 26-11-1979 at 9 a.m. they formed themselves into an unlawful assembly with the common object of assaulting the appellant herein and snatching from him the movables he was wearing and extorting from him his signatures in blank papers, on which resignation letter was subsequently endorsed.
(3.) The appellant was a teacher in the Middle School in Arulambadi. The seventh respondent was the Headmaster therein, the first respondent the correspondent and the others their close associates. The grievance of the appellant is that he belonged to the Harijan community and the other teachers in the school, who belonged to other communities, treated him in a disrespectful manner and were determined to see that he was removed from service. They therefore joined together and on the day of occurrence, while he was proceeding to the school, they armed themselves with arrival, sticks and knives and respondents 1, 7 and 12 gave direction to the others to catch hold of him and tied him and thereupon the second respondent tied him to a pillar nearby and respondents 1, 7 and 12 saying that a Harijan donkey need not have a ring, a chain and a watch, snatched away the watch, ring and chain he was wearing and the fourth respondent removed the pen, diary and the bunch of keys and the third respondent pushed him by the neck and respondents, 5, 6 and 8 beat him on the chest, face and cheek and respondents 9 and 13 intimidated him by showing the knife and respondents 10 and 11 had forcibly obtained from him, signatures in white blank papers and thereafter the fourth respondent untied him and left him free. The witnesses, who were nearby, intervened and prevented any further assault. The appellant made a complaint to the police which did not bring him any result. Thereafter he issued a legal notice which also had no effect and finally the appellant was forced to file a private complaint in court against the respondents for the above offences.;