The petitioners/A-1 to A-10 in Crime No.279 of 2009 of SHO, Chotutuppal, registered for the offences punishable under Section 400 IPC and police after registration of the crime and after completion of investigation filed final report against them that was taken cognizance by the learned Judicial First Class Magistrate, at Ramannapet as PRC No.8 of 2015 to commit the case to the Court of Sessions for the offence under Section 400 IPC, they filed the present criminal petition saying earlier on the same allegations they faced trial in S.C. No.61 of 2008 and SC No.34 of 2010 which cases were ended in acquittal after trial, thereby, the present PRC proceedings are barred by Section 300 Cr.P.C, for the reason even in the earlier offence mentioned as 395 IPC and presently mentioned as if under Section 400 IPC.

2) Heard learned counsel for the petitioners as well as 1st respondent—State and the 2nd respondent—SHO, Choutuppal represented by learned public prosecutor and perused the material on record.

3) Section 400 IPC and Section 395 IPC respectively read as under:

400.Punishment for belonging to gang of dacoits—Whoever, at any time after the passing of this Act, shall belong to a gang of persons associated for the purpose of habitually committing dacoity, shall be punished with [imprisonment for life], or with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.

395. Punishment for dacoity—Whoever commits dacoity shall be punished with [imprisonment for life], or with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.

4) From the above, the punishment for the offence under Section 400 IPC is for belonging to gang of dacoits by associated in the gang for the purpose of habitually committing dacotiy, there was a punishment for the offence under Section 395 IPC as per dacoity defined under Section 391 IPC. Section 391 IPC defines Dacoity –when five or more persons conjointly commit or attempt to commit a robbery, or where the whole number of persons conjointly committing or attempting to commit a robbery, and persons present and aiding such commission or attempt, amount to five or more, every person so committing, attempting or aiding, is said to commit “dacoity”.

5) Who ever commits dacoity (supra) shall be punished with imprisonment for life or with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years and also liable to fine and the punishment for Section 400 IPC is also with life or with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years and shall also be liable to fine. What Section 300 IPC speaks in the following lines:

300. Person once convicted or acquitted not to be tried for same offence: (1) A person who has once been tried by a Court of competent jurisdiction for an offence and convicted or acquitted of such offence shall, while such conviction or acquittal remains in force, not be liable to be tried again for the same offence, nor on the same facts for any other offence for which a different charge from the one made against him might have been made under sub-section (1) of Section 221, or for which he might have been convicted under sub-section (2) thereof.

(2) A person acquitted or convicted of any offence may be afterwards tried, with the consent of the State Government, for any distinct offence for which a separate charge might have been made against him at the former trial under sub-section (1) of Section 220.

(3) A person convicted of any offence constituted by any act causing consequences which, together with such act, constituted a different offence from that of which he was convicted, may be afterwards tried for such last mentioned offence, if the consequences had not happened, or were not known to the Court to have happened, at the time when he was convicted.

(4) A person acquitted or convicted of any offence constituted by any acts may, notwithstanding such acquittal or conviction, be subsequently charg