Insufficient proof of assault or criminal force leads to acquittal under S.353 IPC.

1. By means of this criminal revision petition, filed under S.397 read with S.401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Cr.P.C. hereinafter), the convict petitioner has challenged the judgment and order dated 01.04.2017 passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Gomati Judicial District, Udaipur in Crl. Appeal No. 56(4) of 2015 whereby the learned Sessions Judge affirmed his conviction under S.353 IPC while reducing his sentence to RI for six months from RI for one year and setting aside his conviction and sentence under S.384 and S.506 IPC passed by the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Udaipur by judgment and order dated 30.09.2015 in case No. PRC 49 of 2013.

2. The brief facts which led to the filing of the present revision petition are as under:
On 27.01.2013 at around 6 O'clock in the morning while Shri Mahendra Das, a Forester, was patrolling in a forest vehicle along with his accompanying forest staff at Bangerpar, Sonamura Chowmuni, to prevent smuggling of forest produce, accused petitioner was found carrying a sawn timber on his bicycle. Seeing the patrolling party, he ran away leaving his bicycle and timber. When the patrolling party was lifting the bicycle and the timber on their vehicle, the accused petitioner returned with his associates namely Sudhangshu Das @ Sudha and Gopal Das and forcibly took away his bicycle and timber from their custody and warned them that if they further enter into their village without permission, they would be killed.

3. Based on this information, R.K.Pur P.S. Case No.29 of 2013 dated 27.01.2013 under S.353, S.384 and S.506 IPC was registered against the accused petitioner and 02 other accused and the investigation of the case was taken up.

4. Shri Sankar Nag, Sub-inspector of police of R.K.Pur police station carried out the whole investigation of the case and having completed his investigation, he submitted challan No.92 of 2013 dated 31.03.2013 under S.353, S.384 and S.506 IPC against the 3 FIR named accused including the accused petitioner. The jurisdictional Judicial Magistrate, Udaipur, received the charge sheet and took cognizance of offence punishable under S.353, S.384 and S.506 IPC. The trial commenced with the framing of charges under S.353, S.384 and S.506 read with S.34 IPC against the accused petitioner as well as the other 02 accused. They pleaded not guilty to the charges and claimed trial.

5. During trial, 08 witnesses were examined and 03 documents (Exbt.1 - Exbt.3/2) were exhibited on behalf of the prosecution. Separate statement of each of the accused was then recorded under S.313 Cr.P.C. In reply, they pleaded innocence and claimed that the charges were foisted on them.

6. At the conclusion of trial, the learned trial court on appreciation of evidence held the accused petitioner guilty of offence punishable under S.353, S.384 and S.506 IPC and convicted him while acquitting the other 02 accused of all the three charges. After conviction the accused petitioner was sentenced to RI for one year for having committed offence under S.353 IPC. He was further sentenced to RI for two years under S.384 IPC and RI for one year for offence under S.506 IPC and it was ordered that the sentences would run concurrently.

7. In appeal, the learned Sessions Judge by the impugned judgment dated 01.04.2017, affirmed the conviction of the petitioner under S.353 IPC while reducing his sentence to RI for six months from RI for one year and setting aside his conviction and sentence under S.384 and S.506 IPC w