- (1.) BY the Court. -Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and learned counsel for the State. No one has appeared for the apposite party No. 2 complainant, who was noticed in the case and the notice was validly served at the admission stage.
(2.) THE petitioners have challenged that judgment dated 23rd December, 1997 passed by the learned 1st Additional Sessions Judge, Godda, in Cr. Appeal No. 265 of 1983/08 of 1990 whereby, the judgment of the conviction and sentence dated 22.9.1983 for the offence under Sections 379/144 of the Indian Penal Code, passed by Sri B.K. Choudhary, learned Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class, Godda, in PCR Case No. 431 of 1980/TR No. 961 of 1983 was upheld by the learned Appellate Court below. It appears that the petitioner had been made accused in PCR Case No. 431 of 1980 on the allegation that the petitioners had harvested away the paddy crop from land belonging to the complainant. In course of the trial, the complainant had adduced evidence in support of his case. It appears from the impugned judgment that even though the case of the petitioners was that the land was cultivated by these petitioners, but no defence evidence was adduced to show that the land belonged to the defence side. The trial Court below, upon appreciation of the evidence brought on record, found the petitioners and one co -accused guilty for the offence under Sections 379/144 of the Indian Penal Code and convicted them for the same and upon hearing on the point of sentence the convicted accused persons were directed to undergo RI for six months each for the offence under Section 379 of the Indian Penal Code. No separate sentence was pronounced for the offence under Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code. The appellate Court below upheld the judgment of conviction and Order of sentence dated 22.9.1983 passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate, Godda, in PCR Case No. 431 of 1980/TR No. 961 of 1983, by judgment dated 23.12.1997 passed by the learned 1st Additional Sessions Judge, Godda, in Cr. Appeal No. 265 of 1983/08 of 1990.
(3.) UPON going through the judgments passed by the Courts below, I find that there was nothing on the record to show that the petitioners were not the first offenders.;