HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE GOPALA KRISHNA TAMADA CRIMINAL REVISION CASE No. 1921 of 2003 DATE:03.03.2010 Between: P. Chalapathy … Petitioner And The State of A.P. represented by the Public Prosecutor, High Court of A.P., Hyderabad. … Respondent HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE GOPALA KRISHNA TAMADA CRIMINAL REVISION CASE No. 1921 of 2003 JUDGMENT: This revision is directed, by the petitioner-accused, against the judgment dated 19.12.2003 passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Chittoor, in Crl.A.No.399 of 2003, dismissing the said appeal, while confirming the conviction and sentence recorded in judgment dated 22.08.2003 in C.C.No.341 of 2001 on the file of the learned II Additional Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Madanapalle, for the offence punishable under Section 44 of the Indian Electricity Act. 2. When the matter is taken up for hearing, the learned counsel for the petitioner seeks permission of this Court to get the offence compounded, as provided for under Section 152 of the Electricity Act, 2003 (for short “the Act). 3. Section 152 of the Act reads as under: “Compounding of offences: (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), the Appropriate Government or any officer authorized by it in this behalf may accept from any consumer or person who committed or who is reasonably suspected of having committed an offence of theft of electricity punishable under this Act, a sum of money by way of compounding of the offence as specified in the table below: Nature of Service Rate at which the sum of money for Compounding to be collected per Kilowatt (KW)/Horse Power (HP) or part thereof for Low Tension (LT) supply and per Kilo Volt Ampere (KVA) of contracted demand for High Tension (HT). 1. Industrial service Twenty thousand rupees 2. Commercial Service Ten thousand rupees 3. Agrl.service Two thousand rupees 4. Other services Four thousand rupees Provided that the Appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, amend the rates specified in the Table above. (2) On payment of the sum of money in accordance with sub-section (1), any person in custody in connection with that offence shall be set at liberty and no proceedings shall be instituted or continued against such consumer or person in any criminal court. (3) The acceptance of the sum of money for compounding an offence in accordance with sub-section (1) by the Appropriate Government or an officer empowered in this behalf shall be deemed to amount to an acquittal within the meaning of Section 300 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974). (4) The Compounding of an offence under sub-section (1) shall be allowed only once for any person or consumer.” 4. As the said provision of law permits compounding of offences and the petitioner has expressed his willingness to get the offence compounded, this Court is of the view that the revision can be disposed of with a direction to the petitioner to approach the competent authority and get the offence compounded. 5. Accordingly, the criminal revision case is disposed of with a direction to the petitioner to approach the competent authority within a period of four (4) weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this judgment and pay the compound fee, as specified under Section 152 of the Act, and thereafter, get the offence compounded. ______________________ GOPALA KRISHNA TAMADA 3rd March, 2010 CBS HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE GOPALA KRISHNA TAMADA CRIMINAL REVISION CASE No. 1921 of 2003 (Disposed of ) Date:03-03-2010 CBS