IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA. Cr.A. No.290/2001 Reserved on.28.2.2008 Decided on.7.3.2008 State of H.P. …Appellant. Versus Surat Singh. …Respondent Coram The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Rajiv Sharma, J. Whether approved for reporting ?1. No. For the appellant : Mr. Anil Kumar Jaswal, Deputy Advocate General. For the respondents : Mr. Parkash Thakur, Advocate. Rajiv Sharma, J. The respondent was prosecuted in criminal case No.155/2 of 1995 in the Court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Court No.2, Paonta Sahib under sections 41 and 42 of the Indian Forest Act and was acquitted on 30.12.2000. The State has filed this appeal assailing the acquittal of the accused. The brief facts which can be gathered from the judgment of the trial court necessary for the adjudication of this appeal are that PW-1 M.S. Bains had moved an application Ex.PW-1/C to the Police on 12.12.1994 stating therein that the respondent-accused had supplied coal after illicit felling of wood to Government offices at Shillai illegally. The FIR Ex.PW- 5/C was registered on the basis of application Ex.PW-1/C. The matter was investigated by the police. The challan was put against the accused 1 Whether the reporters of Local Papers may be allowed to see the judgment? No. 2 in the Court. The prosecution to prove its case had examined 16 witnesses. The accused was examined under section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The trial court acquitted the respondent-accused on 30.12.2000. The learned Deputy Advocate General had strenuously argued that the prosecution has proved the charges against the accused. He also contended that the trial court has failed to appreciate the evidence led by the prosecution during the trial. Mr. Parkash Thakur, Advocate appearing on behalf of the respondents had supported the judgment dated 30.12.2000. I have heard the learned counsel for the parties and perused the record meticulously. Sh. M.S. Bains (PW-1) has deposed that in the year 1992-93 accused Surat Singh supplied 50 quintals coal to PWD Department, 12 quintals to B.D.O. Shillai and 16 quintals to Tehsildar, Shillai though neither he was a contractor nor any valid permit was issued in his favour. PW-1 has failed to disclose as to under whose orders the accused had supplied the coal to the Government Departments as mentioned in his statement. He has also failed to demonstrate the date and month the accused had supplied the coal to these departments. He has also not stated from where the accused had cut the wood and prepared the coal. He admitted that no tree was found to have been cut from his jurisdiction for the purpose of preparation of coal. PW-16 Bhagat Ram, I.O. could not narrate in which forest the trees were cut for the preparation of coal. He also could not tell the manner in which the coal was transported. The fact that accused had refused to give specimen hand writing will not be a ground to raise the presumption that the accused was guilty. PW-3 Sh. Pritam Singh has stated that in 1992-93 quotation for the supply of coal to 3 the office of Naib Tehsildar was approved in the name of accused and 16 quintals of coal at the rate of 345/- per quintal was supplied and the bills were subsequently sent to SDM office, Paonta. It is evident from the contents of letter Ex.PW-3/A that Naib Tehsildar office Shillai itself approved the supply of coal by the accused. PW-2 Head Constable Mahinder Singh has stated that the accused had handed over the cash memo of Ajad Traders Ex.PW-2/A and copy of stock register Ex.PW-2/B, however, PW-5 Vinod Kumar has stated that the bill Ex.PW-2/A was never issued by him nor the same bears his signatures. The bill Ex.PW-2/A is not the original, but the same is the duplicate one. Neither PW-2 nor PW-9 has stated that the accused had purchased 79 quintals of coal in the year 1992-93 at Jagadhari. The statement of PW-4 Shyam Singh is also not significance since he could not narrate the source from where the coal had been purchased. He could not supply the list of registered contractors in the range of Shillai. Bills No. 245, 246 and 247 mark-A to mark-C are photocopies and the original bills were never produced before the Court. The statement of PW-16 Bhagat Ram, I.O. will not give any credence with regard to the recovery of the bills since no recovery memo etc. was prepared by him. The statement of PW-11 Sukh Ram is also insignificant to prove 16 quintals of supply in 1992-93 to Tehsildar for the simple reason that Ex.PW-11/A is merely a photocopy of some record from November, 1992 to March, 1993. As far as supply of coal to PWD Department is concerned, PW-7 Daulat Ram was examined by the prosecution. He has stated that accused Surat Singh had not supplied the coal, rather he has stated that one Sh. Ishwar Singh had supplied the coal. The statement of PW-13 Sh. Parkash Chand, XEN, PWD cannot be believed since Ex.PW- 7/A and Ex.PW-7/B are merely a photocopies and the original had not 4 been shown to him. PW-6 Nand Lal was examined to prove the supply of coal to B.D.O. Shillai. He has stated that Surat Singh had issued bill No. 299 dated 11.11.1992 in relation to supply of coal to his office. He has further stated that the original had been sent to the office of the Accountant General, H.P. for audit purpose and the carbon copy was retained. He has further stated that the bill Ex.PW-6/A is the correct photocopy of the carbon copy. The copy of carbon copy is not admissible perse since Ex.PW-6/A has not been proved in accordance with law. The statement of PW-10 Hans Raj Sharma cannot be relied upon. The upshot of the above discussion is that the prosecution has failed to prove its case against the accused that he had supplied 50 quintals coal to the PWD Department, 16 quintals to BDO, Shillai and 12 quintals to Tehsildar in the year 1992-93. In view of the observations made above, this court need not interfere in the well reasoned judgment of the trial court. The result of the above discussion is that the appeal fails and the same is dismissed. The bail bonds furnished by the respondent-accused are discharged. ( Rajiv Sharma), Judge March 7, 2008 *Awasthi*