Evidence of obstruction and intimidation during official duties establishes liability for offenses under IPC and related statutes.

JUDGMENT

1. This is a petition filed under Section 3 97 read with Section 401 of the Code of the Criminal Procedure, 1973 against the judgment and order of conviction and sentence dated 27.05.2020 passed by the learned Session Judge, Belonia, South Tripura in connection with Criminal Appeal No. 09 of 2018 convicting the revision petitioners to suffer S.I. for 2 years and to pay a fine of Rs.5,000/- for the commission of offence punishable under Section 3 53 read with Section 149 of I.P.C. and also to suffer S.I. for two months and to pay a fine of Rs.500/- for the commission of offence punishable under Section 447 read with Section 149 of I.P.C. The sentence shall run concurrently instead of consecutively, and thereby partly allowed the Judgment and Order of sentence dated 29.03.2018 passed by the S.D.J.M. Sabroom, South Tripura in c/w case nos. PRC.(WP) 70 & 71 of 2016, convicting all the revision petitioners under Section 447 of the INDIAN PENAL CODE sentencing each of them to suffer S.I. for two months and also to pay a fine of Rs.500/- each in default to suffer S.I. for one day and also convicting the revision petitioners under Section 3 53 of the INDIAN PENAL CODE sentencing each of them to suffer S.I. for 2(two) years and to pay a fine of Rs.5,000/- each in default to suffer S.I. for 10 days and also further convicting the petitioners under Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to the Public Properties Act, 1984 sentencing each of them to suffer R.I. for 10 months and to pay a fine of Rs.4500/- each in default to suffer S.I. for 8 days with a direction that all the sentences shall run consecutively.

2. The prosecution story in short is that on 02.09.2015, a strike was called (Bharat Bandh) by some political organization. On that day, at about 10:30 A.M., in compliance with the official duty, when Sri Swapan Dey, the then Nazir of the Court of learned Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Sabroom, South Tripura tried to enter the Court along with other staff. They were restrained from entering the Court complex by some picketers. After some time under the protection of Court Sub-Inspector Sabroom somehow the said Swapan Dey managed to enter the Court at about 12 noon. One group of picketers including the convict petitioners herein, namely, Bijoy Dey and Biswajit Ghosh entered the Court complex and started assaulting the Court staff and took away Gobinda Jamatia, Bijoy Nandi, and Chandra Sen Jamatia (staff of the Court). Being petrified, the other staff took shelter in the chamber of the then learned Civil Judge (Jr. Division)-cum-Judicial Magistrate First Class, Sabroom. The picketers started pelting brickbats, and stones inside the chamber and also in the lavatory. The picketers broke the windows and the staff took refuge inside the lavatory. The picketers threatened to cause injury to the persons and obstructed them from discharging their duties and also destroyed public property.

3. On the basis of the said incident, one FIR was lodged by Sri Swapan Dey, Nazir of the office of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Sabroom, South Tripura which was registered as Sabroom Police Station Case No. 2015/SBM/057 dated 02.09.2015 under Section 147 /149/452/332/342/353/427 of IPC and under Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to the Public Properties Act, 1984. The said case was subsequently registered before the learned Court vide Case No. PRC(WP) 71 of 2016. The second FIR was taken up suo-motu by the then O/C Sabroom P.S. namely, Sri Sanjit Sen. The said FIR was registered as Sabroom Police Station Case No. 2015/SBM/058 under Section 147 /149/332/353 of IPC which was subsequently registered before the learned Court below as PRC(WP)70/2016. In that ejahar, it