1960 Supreme(Raj) 61
Rajasthan High Court
Jagat Narayan, J.
Chimna - Appellant
Versus
State - Respondents
S.B. Civil Revision No. 2 of 1939
Decided On : March 07, 1960
Hasti Mal, for Petitioner; B.C. Chatterjee, Asstt. Govt. Advocate, for State; J.S. Chordia, for Opposite party
Headnote:Evidence Act, Sec. 114—111(a)—Presumption—Lapse of time.
2. The prosecution case was that a theft took place in the house of Maji Sahiba of Bawalwara, Smt. Jumna Kaur, while she was away. The theft was discovered on her return from Bawalwara. She sent a report about it to her son Rawatji of Jawas Shri Takhatsingh on 12.2.51. This report was sent by Shri Takhatsingh to the sec. 40, Jawas along with a list of stolen property on 15th February, 1951. The relations between Maji Sahiba and Rawatji, who was her adopted son, were not cordial. Shri Takhatsingh suspected that no theft had actually taken place and his adoptive mother had really given the ornaments away to her daughter. After investigation, the S.H.O. submitted a final report in the case in which he expressed the opinion that it was doubtful whether any theft had taken place. Later on, Maji Sahiba wrote another letter Ex. D. 2 on 7th April, 1952 to the S.I. in which she mentioned that she had come to know that Pannalal and Amritlal Mahajans, who used to visit the palace at Bawalwara, had a hand in the theft, There is no evidence that any action was taken by the police on this letter.
3. On 22nd November, 1955 Head Constable Kanji Bhai P.W. 12 arrested Chimna applicant on suspicion at 11 p.m. outside a Dharamshala in Ahmedabad and upon search a gold pendant of a necklace, weighing about 20 tolas and studded with precious stones, was recovered from his pocket which a man of his means was not expected to possess. When the Head Constable asked him how he came by it, he said that his mother had sent it to him for sale at Ahmedabad and Chhaganlal Mahajan had given it to her.
4. The S.I. of Ahmedabad before whom Kanji Bhai produced Chimna along with the gold pendant inferred that it had been stolen from the house of Chhaganlal. He accordingly sent information about it to Shri Bhanwarlal, S.H.O., Jawas, P.W.6. Bhanwarlal made inquiries from Chhaganlal and found that no theft took place in his house. He, however, discovered from his records that a theft had taken place in the palace of Maji Sahiba of Bawalwara and thought that the pendant might have been stolen in that theft. He accordingly went to Ahmedabad and took Chimna in his custody and interrogated him. After interrogating him he brought Chimna to Bawalwara along with the pendant. He went and saw Maji Sahiba and asked her whether she had lost a pendant in the theft which had taken place in her house in 1951. She told him she had and produced the chirs of the necklace of which the pendant was a part. She identified the pendant as her property. The chirs had screws which fitted the pendant. The chirs were taken by the S.I. into his possession in the presence of Khemchand P. W. 4.
5. Chimna applicant stated before Jawansingh P.W.l. and Pannachand P.W.2 that he was willing to get stolen property recovered and he took the S. I. and these two witnesses to his house in Bawalwara. He dug the floor of the house and got recovered a gold ingot, weighing 33-1/2 tolas.
6. An identification proceeding was held by Shri Bhanwarlal, Tehsildar Magistrate, P.W. 7 at which the gold ingot was identified by Bhimraj P.W.11 as the one which he had prepared after melting a pair of Bindiyas weighing 20 tolas, a Sheotolak weighing 4 tolas, and a Madalia weighing 10 tolas. These three ornaments were mentioned in the list of stolen property handed over to the police on 15th February, 1951. Bhimraj said that these ornaments were brought to him by Chimna applicant who told him that they had been sent by Maji Sahiba