1. This is an application on behalf of the petitioners who were convicted by the Deputy Magistrate under Ss. 147 and 379, I.P.C, and sentenced to two months' rigorous imprisonment under S. 147 and to one month's rigorous imprisonment under S. 379.
2. On appeal the learned Sessions Judge upheld the convictions under Ss. 147 and 379, but reduced the sentence under S. 147, I.P.C, from two months' rigorous imprisonment to a fine of Rs. 25 each; in default three weeks' rigorous imprisonment each. He upheld the sentence on the accused under S. 379.
3. The main ground that has been urged in this application is that a separate sentence under S. 379 is illegal.
4. There being no finding in the judgments of the two Courts below as to who were the accused who individually took away the crops and the common object of the unlawful assembly being to commit theft, the separate sentence under S. 379 is undoubtedly illegal. The case reported as Mithoo Singh v. Gopal Lal(1) is a direct authority on the point.
5. The second point that was urged was that the Magistrate held a local inquiry and did not place the result of that inquiry on the record and as such the accused were prejudiced. This point was not raised before the Court below and has not much force in it.
6. The result is that I uphold the conviction of the accused under S. 147, and while affirming the sentence of fine of Rs. 25 imposed upon each of the petitioners by the Sessions Judge under S. 147, I quash the sentence of one month's rigorous imprisonment inflicted upon them under S. 379, I.P.C The accused will now be discharged from their bail.
V.S/R.K
7. Petition partly accepted.
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