JUDGMENT :

(S.V. PINTO, J.)

1. This appeal has been filed by the appellant- State under Section 378(1)(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 against the judgement and order of acquittal passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Khambhaliya (hereinafter referred to as "the learned Trial Court") in Special (GEB) Case No. 23 of 2012 on 02-11-2012, whereby, the learned Trial Court has acquitted the respondent for the offence punishable under Section 135 of the Indian Electricity Act, 2003.

1.1] The respondent is hereinafter referred to as “the accused” in the rank and file as he stood in the original case for the sake of convenience, clarity and brevity.

2. The brief facts that emerge from the record of the case are as under:

2.1] On 07-05-2009, the complainant Kalpeshbhai Bhagwanjibhai Kanani, Deputy Engineer, PGVCL had gone for checking at the farm of the accused and found that the accused was not a consumer of electricity and had taken an illegal connection by joining a cable wire directly to the electric line and had taken the wire to a distance of about 250 meters in his farm and was running a 12.5 HP electric motor. The necessary procedure was done and a bill of theft of electricity