HARI SHANKAR Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Both the appellants have been convicted of an offence under S. 392 read with S. 34 of the Penal Code (for short IPC) by an Additional Sessions Judge vide his Judgment dt. 30th July, 1983. They have been sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for three years each. Feeling aggrieved they have preferred separate appeals mentioned above against their conviction and sentence.

(2.) The prosecution case in brief is that on 7th May, 1981 at about 10.30 p. m., C. R. Bose (PW 8) was going on his two wheeler scooter bearing registration No. DEI-3900 on Station Road, having entered the same from the crossing called New Partap Chowk. He was told by two boys that the road blocked ahead. However, he paid no heed to the same but when he reached main Palace Road he found that the road was completely blocked and there was no space to go ahead with the vehicle. So he returned to New Partap Chowk. As he was near it, two boys standing there stopped him. They had a dagger each in their hands and they put the same on his chest and back and bade him to hand over all his belongings. Saying so they removed his purse which contained about Rs. 150/- from his hip pocket and they also removed his wrist watch HMT make which he was wearing. Another boy also joined them in the meanwhile and all three of them then took away his scooter telling him to stay there and not to raise any alarm. The)' further told him that they would return his scooter after a few minutes. However; they did not come back. He lodged report Ex. WI 8, A at Police Post Dhaula Kuan with regard to this incident and a case under S.392/397, I. P. C. was registered at Police Station Delhi cantt. Being FIR No. 112 of 1981. The investigation of the case was entrusted to Inspector Gajender Singh, who was then Incharge Police Post Dhaula Kuan.

(3.) On 10th May 1981 Head Constable Jai Chand and Constable Sardar Singh, who were then posted at Police Station Sultan Puri and were on patrol duty in the area at about 9.45 A.M. noticed that a two wheeler scooter in a damaged condition was lying abandoned in an open plot towards the backside of Shobha Cinema. . It was Bajaj make and bore registration No. DEI-3900. They enquired from passers-by about the ownership of the scooter but there being no claimant they seized the same vide memo Ex. PWI/4 and deposited It at Police Station Sultan Puri. On 12th May 1981 Inspector Gajender Singh (PW 11) came to know that a two wheeler scooter had been deposited in the Mai Khana of Police Station Sultan Puri. So he went there along with the complainant C. R. Bose The latter identified the said scooter to be his. Therefore, it was taken into custody by Inspector Gajender Singh vide memo Ex. PW 11/0.