CIVIL APPEAL 1552 of 2004 on 19 July 2004

IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA, CHANDIGARH

Date of Decision: April 28 , 2010 Criminal Revision No.1552 of 2004Gurcharan Singh...........PetitionerVersusState of Punjab ..........Respondent Criminal Revision No. 1962 of 2004Jawla Singh...........PetitionerVersusState of Punjab ..........RespondentCoram: Hon'ble Mrs. Justice SabinaPresent: Mr.Mohd. Yusuf, Advocate for the petitioner.(in Criminal Revision No. 1552 of 2004) Mr.D.S.Dalee, Advocate for the petitioner(in Criminal Revision No.1962 of 2994)Mr.Amandeep Singh Rai,AssistantAdvocate General, Punjab**Sabina, J.

Vide this order, the above-mentioned two criminal revisionpetitions are being disposed of by a common order as they have arisen outof common judgment dated 19.7.2004 passed by the Additional SessionsJudge,(Adhoc), Fast Track Court, Sangrur.

Petitioners were convicted and sentenced for an offenceunder Sections 411,467,468,471 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code videjudgment dated 29.5.2001 passed by the Judicial Magistrate Ist ClassSunam. Aggrieved by the same, petitioners filed the appeals and the same(appeals filed by Jawla Singh and Gurmail Singh) were partly allowed tothe extent that they were acquitted of the offence under Section 411 IPCwhereas the appeals against their conviction and sentence under Sections120-B/467/468 & 471 IPC were dismissed by the Additional Sessions Judge(Adhoc) Fast Track Court Sangrur vide judgment dated 19.7.2004.Hence,the present appeals.

The brief facts of the case, as noticed by the appellate Courtin paras 2 to 4 of its judgment, read as under:- "2.The brief facts of the case are that on 19.8.1998, SI/SHOSardara Singh, P.S. Lehra received a secret information thataccused Gurcharan Singh, Jawala Singh, Gama Singh, Joga Singhand Dharamvir Singh are stealing scooters from the area of Lehra,Sunam and some other places and they often changed their scooternumbers and model and forged duplicate numbers and kept intheir possession for sale to innocent persons. The accused alsoforged seal of Transport Officers for preparation of forged RCs.The accused also kept the blank RCs which they use for forgingsome number and put signatures of the concerned officers and Criminal Revision No.1552 of 2004

many stolen scooters can be recovered alongwith forgedregistration certificates and other articles can also be recovered.On the basis of secret information, FIR under Sections379/411/467/471/420 IPC was registered against the accused andinvestigation was started. On 24.8.1998, SI Sardara Singhalongwith other police officials started for investigation. Hereceived secret information that accused Gurcharan Singh andShingara Singh were coming from Jakhal to Lehra on scooters andthey can be apprehended. SI Sardara Singh laid trap and arrestedaccused Shingara Singh and Gurcharan Singh. Shingara Singhaccused was driving scooter Bajaj Chetak bearing registration No.PB-03E/3155 whereas accused Gurcharan Singh was drivingscooter bearing registration No. PB-13G/0313. From the diggi ofthe scooter of Shingara Singh, the following registrationcertificates were recovered which are as under:-

3. Apart from the above, two RCs bearing signaturesof DTO Ropar and DTO Ferozepur which were blank. Four RCsbearing signatures and seals of DTO Amritsar, DTO Kapurthala,two driving licences bearing seals of DTO, which were alsoblank. One box, chasis number, stamp pad, one seal regarding taxand one regarding period of registration on which word `PB' waswritten. A round seal bearing impression of DTO, a differentstamp and six seals of DTO of different different district andthree identity cards bearing No. 15255 dated 1.4.1991 in the nameof Harjinder Singh Chathe, but bears photographs of ShingaraSingh, driving licence No. 35460 dated 2.4.1998 in the name ofJaswant Singh of Dharamjot, driving licence No. 2566 in theRaghbir Singh of Majhi and five passport size photographs ofdifferent persons were recovered, which were taken intopossession. On checking of diggi of the scooter of GurcharanSingh, RC of scooter No. PB-13G/0313 was recovered, which wasin the name of Jawala Singh s/o Bhag Singh r/o Sunam issued byDTO Sangrur. Scooter and RC were also taken into possession.

4. On 25.8.1998 Gurcahran Singh accused made a disclosurestatement that he has hidden six stolen scooters bearing forgednumbers in the area of village Khandebad. Thereafter, accusedGurcharan Singh got recovered six scooters bearing registrationNos. PB-03F/6567 Vespa, PB-13D/6812 Vespa, PB-03F/6397Chetak, PB-04D/5191 Chetak, PB/10C/6946 Chetak, PB-04A/0597 which were taken into possession. Gurmail Singh @Gama and Jawala Singh were also arrested in FIR 73 dated 14.8.1988 under Section 379/34 IPC by the order of JudicialMagistrate Ist Class Mansa where they were produced by ASIGurcharan Singh who had taken over the investigation. Thenthese accused were remanded to police custody. During policecustody, Jawala Singh made disclosure statement that he hadhidden seven seals of different DTOs in his residential house.Accused Gurmail Singh also made disclosure statement that hehad hidden nine panches put in a plastic box and then, in a plasticpaper and hidden on right side of his residential house which wereused for changing engine and chasis number of the scooters.Then the accused got recovered the seals and panches, which weretaken into possession. After completion of the investigation, thechallan was presented in the Court"

During the course of arguments, learned counsel for thepetitioners, have not challenged the conviction of the petitioners underSections 467,468,471 and 120-B IPC but have submitted that the sentencequa imprisonment be reduced to already undergone by the petitioners.Learned counsel have further submitted that the petitioners are the onlybread earners of the family and are facing the criminal proceedings sincethe year 1998.

Accordingly, keeping in view the submissions made by thelearned counsel for the petitioners, these are fit cases where the sentencequa imprisonment is liable to be reduced to already undergone by thepetitioners.

Hence, the conviction of the petitioners under Sections467,468,471 and 120-B IPC is maintained. However, the sentence qua the Criminal Revision No.1552 of 2004

imprisonment of the petitioners is reduced to already undergone by them.Fine, if not deposited by the petitioners, be deposited within two monthsfrom today failing which the revision petition shall stand dismissed.

Petitions stand disposed of accordingly.

April 28, 2010arya

(Sabina) Judge