Judgment

RAGHUBAR DAYAL, J. This appeal, by special leave, is directed against the order of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh reversing, on State appeal, the order of the Additional Sessions Judge, Houhangabad, acquitting the appellant, and convicting him of an offence under S. 414, I. P. C.

2. Five bales, containing wollen shawls and mufflers despatched from Kanpur by the British India Corporation Ltd., Kanpur Woollen Mills Branch, Kanpur, and another bale despatched from Haimanpur to Kanpur, were loaded at Itarsi railway station on September 18, 1957, in Wagon no. C. R. 325. The lock of the wagon was found broken open at Pandhurna Railway Station at about 1.0 a. m. on September 20, 1957. On checking at Nagpur the aforesaid bales were found missing. One of the bales despatched from Kanpur was found lying the next morning near the railway line between railway stations Jaulkheda and Multai.

3. On September, 23, 1957 the house of one Gopi Nath, at Multai, was searched and certain articles, including some torn labels were recovered from that house.

4. The same day, the police found the appellant and a few other persons come out of Gopi Nath s house at Betul, whose front door was locked. Subsequently, these persons were taken to the police station where the appellant made a statement showing readiness to point out the stolen property. At his instance, the police recovered from different places of that house, woollen shawls, mufflers, bed sheets and certain house-breaking implements. These recoveries were made on September 23 and 24.

5. As a result of investigation, six persons were put on trial in the Magistrate s Court. Ajendra Nath, appellant, was charged under Ss. 120-B, 379 and 414, I. P. C. Babu Ram was charged under Ss. 120-B and 379, I. P. C. Ram Prasad and Gyarsi were charged under S. 120-B read with S. 379, I. P. C., Gopinath under S. 120-B read with S. 414, I. P. C., and Birendranath under S. 414, I. P. C. The learned Magistrate acquitted Birendra Nath and convicted the other accused of the offence under S. 120-B read with S. 379, I. P. C., except in the case of Gopinath, who was convicted of the offence under S. 120-B read with S. 414, I. P. C. Ajendra Nath was also convicted of the offence under S. 414, I. P. C.

6. On appeal, the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Hoshangabad, acquitted all these convicted persons. He held that the property recovered was not proved to be stolen property and that the alleged conspiracy was not proved. The State filed an appeal against the acquittal of Gopinath and Ajendra Nath. The High Court dismissed the appeal against Gopinath and the appeal against Ajendra Nath for the offence of conspiracy. It however allowed the appeal against Ajendra Nath with respect to the offence under S. 414, I. P. C. It is against this order that this appeal has been filed by Ajendra Nath, appellant.

7. Ajendra Nath did not question the recovery of the various articles from Gopi Nath s house at Betul at his instance. He did not clain the property to be his own, but stated that it was not stolen property. The main contention for the appellant in this Court has been that these recovered articles were not proved to be stolen property. The articles, consisted of those said to have been sent by the British India Corporation Ltd., Kanpur Woollen Mills Branch Kanpur, and bed-sheets sent by the firm of V. S. N. C. Narsingha Chettiar, which carries on business of wholesale Hand Loom Cloth at Karur.

8. The invoices relating to the four bales sent by the Kanpur Woollen Mills give the details of the shawls and mufflers the bales contained. A very large quantity of these has been recovered. Out of 95 shawls and 60 mufflers, as many as 80 shawls and 43 mufflers had been recovered. Similarly, out of 10 pairs of bed-sheets stolen, 8 pairs have been recovered. The absence of any adequate explanation for the presence of such a large quantity of articles similar to those proved to have been despatched by the Kanpur Woollen Mills or by