- (1.) The Applicant was convicted by a Magistrate First class, Deoria, Under Section 14 of the Foreigner's Act read with Section 3(3) of the Indian Passport Act and sentenced to three month's rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 100/-. In default of payment of fine he was directed to undergo two weeks' rigorous imprisonment. He was further convicted Under Section 14 of the Foreigner's Act for refusing to leave India after notice and sentenced to nine months' rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 400/-or to two months' rigorous imprisonment in default of payment of fine. The conviction and the sentences of imprisonment were affirmed in appeal by the Sessions Judge, Deoria, but the sentences of fine imposed on the two counts were reduced from Rs. 100/- to Rs. 50/- and from Rs. 400/- to Rs. 200/- respectively. This revision is directed against the aforesaid conviction and sentences.
(2.) The prosecution case was that the Applicant Ali Raza was a resident of Pakistan. He was found in India on 7-6-1965 and was served with an order to produce his passport or other legal authority for living in India within 24 hours. In default he was directed to leave India within the same period. The Applicant failed to produce the passport or other legal documents and also did not leave India. He was, therefore, arrested on 8-6-1965 and was prosecuted.
(3.) The Applicant pleaded not guilty. He claimed to be an Indian national and denied that he was served with any notice to leave India. He also examined two witnesses in defence to prove that he was a resident of India and never migrated to Pakistan. The courts below believed the prosecution evidence and disbelieved the testimony of the defence witnesses. The prosecution evidence consisted inter alia of two important documents namely Exhibit Ka 2 which was a residential permit issued to one Ali Raza resident of Pakistan holding passport No. 314217 dated 18-6-1953 bearing visa No. G-2495 dated 7-5-1958 permitting the aforesaid Ali Raza to remain in India till 1-6-1958 and Exhibit Ka 1 which was a temporary residential permit which also revealed that one Ali Raza resident of Pakistan came to India on a Pakistani passport No. 284041 dated 2-9-1958 bearing visa No. G-61150 dated 6-10-1958 and he was permitted to live in India upto 25-10-1958. On an appraisal of the entire evidence in the case the courts below recorded a finding that the Applicant entered India twice on the basis of the passports and the visas mentioned in the residential permits Exhibits Ka 2 and Ka 1 and that the Applicant was a resident of Pakistan. It may be noticed that the Applicant had signed on the back of the residential permits Exs. Ka 2 and Ka 1 which left no room for doubt that he had entered India on the residential permits. The Applicant persisted in denying that he had entered India on the basis of any passport and he went to the length of disowning even his signatures on the back of the two documents Exhibits Ka 2 and Ka 1. The prosecution examined Punideo Tewari (PW 2) Head Constable, who stated on oath that the accused had signed the permits exhibits Ka 2 and Ka 1 on the back but this witness was not cross-examined on this point at all. Chunni Lal Sharma (P.W. 4) the Handwriting Ex pert, also gave an opinion after comparing the specimen signatures of the Applicant with the signatures "Aliraza" on the back of the permits (Exhibits Ka 2 and Ka 1) that they had been written by one and the same person. Thus, the finding of fact recorded by the courts below is that the Applicant was a resident of Pakistan and he had entered India on the basis of the passports in the year 1958. It is not possible for me to disturb this finding in the exercise of my revisional jurisdiction and nothing has been brought to my notice which may persuade me to hold that the finding was manifestly unreasonable or perverse. I, therefore, proceed on that assumption to determine as to whether the conviction of the Applicant was vitiated by any error of law.;