IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CRIMINAL REVISION No.345 of 2002 ================================================== ========= 1. Suresh Singh, son of Khapo Singh, resident of village-Bihat Tola Safaigalpur, P.S.-Barauni, District- Begusarai. 2. Suresh Paswan, son of Late Rameshwar Paswan @ Tetar Paswan, resident of village-Behat Tola, Gurdaspur, P.S.- Barauni, District- Begusarai. Versus The State Of Bihar ================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE AMARESH KUMAR LAL ORAL JUDGMENT (Per: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE AMARESH KUMAR LAL) Amaresh Kumar Lal,J. This revision application has been preferred against the judgment and order dated 12.02.2002 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge-VI, Begusarai in Cr. Appeal No.81/2000 by which the judgment and order dated 27.05.2000 passed by the learned Railway Judicial Magistrate, Barauni in Garhara R.P.F. Case No.15/1982 has been confirmed and the appeal has been dismissed. The prosecution case in, brief, is that on 13.09.1982 at about 2.30 P.M. the R.P.F. Inspector alongwith other police personnel was going to village Bihat for executing the warrant of arrest. During that period, it came to their notice that steam coals belonging to the 2 railway were being loaded on a tractor. Two persons were apprehended, who disclosed their identity as Suresh Singh and Suresh Paswan (petitioners). From the possession of Suresh Paswan, a dagger was recovered. The tractor and the trailer were also seized. The petitioners could not show the valid receipt for possession of the aforesaid coal and they made confession that the seized coal was the railway property. On the basis of the report, Garhara R.P.F. Case No.15/1982 was instituted under Section 3 of the Railway Property (Unlawful Possession) Act. After the trial both the petitioners were convicted under the aforesaid act and they were sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for one year. Thereafter, the petitioners filed Cr. Appeal No.81/2000 against the aforesaid order. The appeal has been dismissed and the judgment and order passed by the learned Railway Judicial Magistrate have been affirmed. It appears that 21 witnesses have been examined on behalf of the prosecution and there are also documentary evidence, which have been adduced on behalf of the prosecution, out of which, Exhibit 9 is the confessional statement of accused Suresh Singh and Exhibit 10 is the confessional statement of the accused Suresh Paswan. From 3 the confessional statement of the accused Suresh Singh, it appears that he used to purchase coal stealing from railway and the confessional statement of Suresh Paswan shows that he does not know from where the coal was brought. The defence is that the coal is purchased from Sokhara Coal Depot from Ramnandan Singh and P.W.16 Ramnandan Singh has also deposed in the court and supported the whole prosecution case alongwith his confessional statement. It has also brought on the record the chemical examination report from which it appears that the coal seized is steam coal, which is usually used in the railway and it is the railway property. The conviction has been upheld by the lower appellate court after scrutinizing the evidence adduced on behalf of both the parties before the learned trial court. I do not find any ground to interfere with the concurrent finding of both the courts below. So far as the sentence part is concerned, it appears that the occurrence has taken place on 13.09.1982 and more than 28 years have been passed. The petitioners have been in custody for some time. They have been released on bail vide order dated 16.05.2002. Considering the facts and circumstances stated 4 above, in my opinion, there will be no justification for sending the petitioners to jail after the expiry of more than 28 years. In the interest of justice, the sentence of the petitioners is reduced to the period already undergone in custody. With the aforesaid modification in the sentence, this revision application is disposed of. Patna High Court, Patna Dated, the 1st August, 2011 N.A.F.R./V.K. Pandey ( Amaresh Kumar Lal, J.)