Judgment

KHANNA, J. :- Can a convicted person be said to be lawfully imprisoned if at the time of his conviction the trial judge dictates the judgment but does not sign the same because of its having not been transcribed is one of the questions which arises for determination in two petitions Nos. 1522 and 1523 of 1973 which have been sent from jail by Iqbal Ismail Sodawala for issuing a writ of hebeas corpus. The facts giving rise to those two petitions are substantially the same and, therefore, it may be necessary to deal with only one of them. The petitioner has also filed petition No. 1637 of 1973 questioning the validity of the order of the Registrar of the Bombay High Court declining to place before the Court a petition received by post from the petitioner unless it was accompanied by a copy of the register of petition duly filled in by the Jail Superintendent. This judgment would dispose of all the three petitions.

2. The petitioner was tried in the Court of Shri. P. K. Gupte, Judge, City Civil and Sessions Court, Greater Bombay for offences under Sections 392 and 397, Indian Penal Code. The petitioner was found guilty of those offences and was sentenced as per judgment dated M