Law: Canal and Drainage Act (VIII of 1813)

Section: 33

Law: Penal Code (XLV of 1860)

Section: 430

  Canal and Drainage Act (VIII of 1813),   S.33-Penalty   Deliberate       cut             proved-Three persons prosecuted under S. 430, Penal Code (XI V of 1860), but acquitted as there was no; evidence against them-Joint liability to penalty-Deliberate cut to be penalised by imposing maximum penalty.   ORDER   This is a case where a penalty for making a cut in the bank of a distributary and drawing unauthorised supplies from it was imposed by the Divisional Canal Officer on 15-5-54. An appeal was lodged before the Deputy Commissioner in the exercise of powers as Commissioner and he dismissed it on 28-5-55, because the appellant or his counsel was absent on that day in spite of previous notice. The petitioner has come up to me in revision.   It appears that in this case three particular individuals were prosecuted for an offence under section 430, P. P. C. because they had admitted that they were responsible for making the cut. The prosecution, however, failed because there was no evidence against them. The present petitioners went to take advantage of the failure of that prosecution and argue that since the…