Judgement

Mahajan, J.- These two appeals arise in the following circumstances: One Mokshadamoyee Dassi, mother of Dhirendra Nath Bera, died some time in the evening of 3-9-1949. At the moment of her death Dhirendra Nath was not present at the house. On his return at about 8-30 p. m. he along with some other persons took the dead body to the cremation ground. It appears that Nurul Huda, the appellant in Criminal Appeal No. 27 of 1952, had lodged information at the police station to the effect that Dhirendra Nath had beaten and throttled his mother to death when the funeral pyre was in flames, Nurul Huda along with the appellants in Criminal Appeal No. 26 of 1952 and accompanied by the sub-inspector of police arrived at the cremation ground. The appellants pointed out the dead body and told the sub-inspector that the complainant had killed his mother by throttling her and that there were marks of injury on the body which they could show to the sub-inspector if he caused the body to be brought down from the pyre. At their suggestion the fire was extinguished and the dead body was taken down from the pyre in spite of the protests from the complainant. On an examination of the dead body it was found that there were no marks of injury on it and the appellants were unable to paint out any such marks. The body was however sent for post-mortem examination which was held on 5-9-1949 but no injury was found on the person of the deceased. The sub-inspector after investigation reached the conclusion that a false complaint had been made against Dhirendra Nath.

2. On 24-9-1949 Dhirendra Nath filed a petition of complaint in the Court of the sub-divisional officer of Uluberia in the district of Howrah against the appellants in bath the cases and one Sanwaral Huq. It was alleged in the complaint that the information given by Nurul Huda to the polite was false, that Nurul Huda and the other appellants has made imputations mala fide out of enmity against him with the intention at harming his reputation and that to wound his religious feelings they had trespassed on the cremation ground and caused the dead body to be taken out by making false imputations.

3. The appellants were tried before Shri R. Ray Choudhury, Magistrate 1st Class, Uluberia, on charges under Ss. 297 and 500, I. P. C. The charges framed against them were in these terms:

"(1) That you on or about the 17th day of Bhadra, 1356 B. S. at Panshila. P. S. Shyampur with the intention of wounding the religious feelings of P. W. 1, Dhirendra Nath Bera, the complainant, committed trespass upon the cremation ground where the funeral rites of the mother of the complainant were being performed and thereby committed an offence punishable Under B.297, I. P. C., and within my cognizance;

(2) That you on or about the 17th day of Bhadra, 1356 B.S. at Panshila, P. B. Shyampur defamed P. W. 1 Dhirendra Nath Bera, the complainant, by making imputation to the effect that he had killed his mother intending to harm, or knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation would harm the reputation of the complainant and thereby committed an offence punishable under B. 500, I. P. C. and within my cognizance."

None of these charges relates to the falsity of the report made to the police or contains facts or allegations which disclose an offence under S. 182, I. P. C. The charge under S. 297, I. P. C, was a distinct one and concerned an act of the accused committed after the giving of the report. The charge under S. 500 related to defamatory and libellous allegations contained in the report itself.

4. It was contended on behalf of the defence that Nurul Huda had lodged information with the police under a bond fide belief created in his mind on the statement of one Asiram Bibi and that none of the accused persons had entered the cremation ground as alleged by the complainant.

5. The Magistrate held the charges proved against all the appellants and convicted each of them under Ss. 297 and 500, I. P. C. Each of