JUDGMENT

Walsh, J. - In this case a puntiha coolie had stolen a brooch worth Rs. 20 which he Sold to the present applicant Chander Sen foroneanua. Chander Sen was examined as a prosecution witness and admitted that he had given the boy one anna and that he handed the brooch on to a caste-follow who was a sonar. He represented himself as a philanthropist which, of course, is nonsense. The next time he wants to do an act of philanthropy and give a boy one anna when he is hungry I should advise him not to take a stolen brooch in exchange. The notion that he handed on this illgotten gain as a present to his friend the sonar is nonsense. The brooch would only be worth to a sonar what it would fetch, and it is, therefore, reasonable to suppose , in fact quite certain, that Chandra Sen intended to divide the proceeds with his friend. It was clearly a dishonest act which deserved punishment though no more than a petty theft to which, no doubt, he was by chance subjected to a sudden temptation. The punishment seems to me to have been adequate, and the fine, unless he is a man of some position, rathers evere. All this, however, is really irrelevant to the question which I have to determine, a