G.N.Prasad, J.

1. These appeals and revisions involve similar questions of law and fact, and they have been heard together with the consent of the parties and for the sake of convenience. They arise out of four separate trials, in each of which the charges framed against the various accused persons were mainly for offences under Sections 39 and 44 of the Indian Electricity Act (Act X of 1910), 1910 (hereafter to be referred to as the Act) and Rule 138 read with Rule 56 of the Indian Electricity Rules (hereafter to be referred to as the Rules) framed by the Central Electricity Board under Section 37 of the Act.

2. All the four prosecutions were launched on different dates in June and July, 1958, at the instance of the Chief Engineer of the Patna Electric Supply Company Limited, who at the relevant time, was Sri B.S. Ramaswami, and in the following circumstances:

3. The Patna Electric Supply Company Limited (hereinafter to be referred to as the PESCO) generates electrical energy and also purchases such energy from the Bihar State Electricity Board. The total quantity of the energy so generated and purchased by the PESCO came to about forty lacs units per month in 1958. In tha