- (1.) APPLICANT Gajadhar Prasad was convicted by a Magistrate First Class for an offence Under Section 380 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to one year's rigorous imprisonment.
(2.) ON appeal, his conviction and sentence were confirmed by the learned I Temporary Civil and Sessions Judge, Hamirpur.
(3.) THE prosecution story in brief is as follows : Motilal, brother of applicant Gajadhar Prasad and Banshidhar (P. W. 8) jointly obtained a Truck on hire purchase agreement from Reliable Finance Corporation Private Ltd. , New Delhi. On 2-10-1961, Moti Lal and Banshidhar agreed that Moti Lal alone should use the truck and be liable for the dues of the Reliable Finance Corporation Private Ltd. The aforesaid agreement was reduced into writing on a stamp paper Ex. Ka-1. Both the parties handed over the agreement deed (Ex. Ka-1) to one Chandra Shekhar (P. W. 1) for its safe custody. The instalments due on hire purchase agreement to Reliable Finance Corporation Private Ltd. , fell in arrears and a decree was passed in its favour by the arbitrator for Rs. 5,100/- against both Moti Lal and Banshidhar. The aforesaid decree was ultimately made a rule of Court. The decretal amount was realised from Moti Lal alone. Moti Lal in turn filed a suit against Banshidhar for the recovery of half of the decretal amount. Banshidhar contested the suit and filed his written statement on 10-4-1967 denying his liability on the basis of the agreement deed (Ex. Ka-1) referred to above. Banshidhar moved the learned Munsif before whom the suit was pending for summoning the deed of agreement from Chandra Shekhar. On 25-4-1967, Gajadhar Prasad applicant came to Chandra Shekhar and asked him to show the deed of agreement. Chandra Shekhar took it out from a box which was kept in his outer sitting room in the presence of Gajadhar and showed the deed of agreement to him. Gaiadhar perused the deed of agreement and then returned it to Chandra Shekhar. who put it back in the same box. The box was, however, not locked. On 26-4-1967 in the morning at about 6. 30 A. M. Gaiadhar came to the house of Chandra Shekhar, entered his Baithak, opened the box in his absence, took out the deed of agreement and ran away with it. Batti, the servant of Chandra Shekhar saw him running with the deed of agreement and raised an alarm. Chandra Shekhar and some others chased him. Gaja-dhar tore away that portion of the agreement, which bore the signatures of the executants, gulped it and threw the rest on the ground and ran away. The deed of agreement in its torn condition was picked up by Chandra Shekhar, who reported the incident to the police, on the basis of which a case was registered and the applicant was sent up for trial. ;