JUDGMENT

Behera, J.-The petitioner assails the order of conviction recorded against him by the trial court and maintained by the appellate court under section 504 of the Indian Penal Code. I do not feel myself called upon to go into the facts and the merits of the case as I propose to allow the revision and remit the appeal to be heard afresh by the learned Sessions Judge, Puri, for the reasons to follow, as agreed to by the learned counsel for both the sides.

2. The learned counsel for the appel1ant had appeared on the previous dates of the hearing of the appeal in the appellate court, but on August 12, 1981, owing to Circumstances beyond his control, he could not appeal in time in the court. The learned Sessions Judge heard the appeal in the initial hours of that day with the assistance of the learned counsel appearing for the respondent and dictated the judgment in the open court dismissing the appeal with reduction in the sentence imposed on the petitioner. Later on the same day, the learned counsel for the appellant appeared and made an application for re-hearing tile appeal stating the grounds as to how he could not appear in the court in time. As the judgment hid been dictat