Jackson, J.

1. Appeal against the judgment and sentence of the Sessions Judge of West Tanjore in Crl. A. No. 6 of 1924.

2. The appellant was convicted by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Pattukottai, and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for nine months under Section 409, Indian Penal Code. The learned Sessions Judge confirmed the conviction and reduced the sentence to the amount of imprisonment already undergone.

3. The appellant was an Amin of the Sub-Court at Kumbakonam and, admittedly, on the 27th February 1923, he collected a sum of Rs. 190-4-0 in Papanasam. He did not pay this amount into Court until the 2nd of July 1923, and the lower Courts have found that he was guilty of criminal misappropriation. There is no evidence of what exactly he did with the money; but if an Amin collects a large sum of money and does not pay it into Court until five months have elapsed, it is a fair presumption that he has misappropriated the amount, unless he can explain his action. The case of the defence was that the appellant was too ill in the intervening period to pay the money, but his own doctor, D.W. 7 says that the appellant came to him on the 25th April 1923, to get a certific