LexaceLexace Ask the AI ›
⚖️ Ask the AI about your situation:🚗 Car Accident💼 Work / Job🏠 Housing / Eviction👪 Family / Divorce📋 Contract Dispute💰 Money Owed

DAULAT RAM versus STATE OF PUNJAB

Citation: [1962] SUPP. 2 S.C.R. 812 · Decided: 25-01-1962 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: J.L. KAPUR · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed

Open in Lexace · Ask the AI about this case

Judgment (excerpt)

ZfU 
Ktiltlr ~.,~ s;.1~ 
v. 
llwl of Billar 
sw..c. J. 
11/Gt 
Jnuary 16. 
812 SUPREME OOURT REPORTS [1962) SUPP. 
therefore, that cl. (2) of Art. I 9 olearly eaves thA 
section from the vice of unconstitutionality. 
It has not be~n contended hefore us on behalf 
of the appellant in C.A. 169 of 1957 or on behalf of 
the respondents in tho other appeals (No. 124·126 
of 1958) that the words used by them did not 
come within the purview of the definition of sedition 
as interpreted by us. No arguments were advanced 
before us to show that even on the interpreta.tiop 
given by us their cases did not come within tho 
mischit>f of the one or the other section, as the CiUlll 
may be. It follows, therefore, that the Criminal 
Appeal Hi!J of 195i has to be dismissed. Criminal 
Appeals 124-126 of 1958 will be remanded to the 
High Court to pa.ss such order as it thinks fit awl 
proper in the light of the interpretation given by 
us. 
Appeal No. 169 of 1957 dismissed. 
Appeal~ Nos. 124 lo 126 of 19ii8 all,owed. 
DAULATRAM 
v. 
STATE OP PUNJAB 
(J. L. KAPUR, 111. HIDAYATULLAH and RAGllUDAR 
DAYAL, JJ.) 
Pro-~ecution-Cognizance-Comp!aint in 
writing liy thf 
Public Sen'<lnt concerned-If incumbent--Indian l'enal CO<k, 
1860 (Act XLV of 1860), s. 182-Code or Criminal Proc.dure, 
11!.?8 (Act F of 1898), •· 11/5. 
The appellant a Patwari WTote a letter to the Tehsildar 
under whom he was working that he had been robbed of 
certain official papers and money. The police reported that 
on invcstigationt the allegations were found to be falst":. 
The 
Tchsi1dar asked the police that a "calendar" be drawn up. 
The police launched a prosecution under s. 182 of the Indian 
Penal Code. No complaint in writing as required by 1. 195 
of the Code of Criminal Procedu1 e was made by the Tchsildar 
2 S.C.R. 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
813 
as the pubHc servant concerned in the case, but a charge ~heet 
was put in bv the police attaching the letter of the Tehs1ldar 
asking them 'to draw up a "calendar" against the appellant. 
Held, that in a prosecution to be launched under s. 195 
of the Code of Criminal Procedure, it is incumbent that a 
complaint in writing should be made by the public servant 
concerned for only on such complaint can the court take 
cogniz"ncc of the offence otherwise the trial is without juris-
diction ab initio. 
Held, further, that s. 182 does not require that an action 
must always be taken on the report made to the public servant, 
the offence is complete as soon as the report is made and the 
person who made the report believed that some action would 
be taken. 
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal 
Appeal No. 126 of 1960. 
Appeal by special leave from the Judgment 
and order dated November 23, 1959, of the Punjab 
High Court in Criminal Revision No. 1445of1959. 
V. D. Mahajan, for the appellant. 
H. K. Khanna, D. Gupta and P. D. Menon, for 
the respondent. 
1962. January 
25. 
The Judgment of the 
Court was delivered by 
196S 
Daulat Rt1trr 
•• 
Stai. of Punjab 
HIDAYATULLAH, J.-This is an appeal by 
Bidayalullah J, 
one l>ault Ram who was prosecuted under s. 182 
of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to impri-
sonment for three months. His revision applica-
tion in the High Court of Punjab a.t Chandigarh 
was dismissed in limini; but he obtained special 
le:ive from this court and has filed this appeal. 
The appellant was working as a Patwari and 
on August 19, 1958, he wrote a letter to the 
Tehsildar of Pathankot that on the previous day 
he had been set upon by two persons Hans Raj 
and Kans .Haj who beat him severely and robbed 
him of oertai.n of his official papers and some 
money, which was with him, partly belonging to 
J3dl 
D...UI Ram 
v. 
SIW of l'unjoi 
Hi'9<1ullali J. 
814 
SUPREME COURT REl>ORTS [1962] SUPP. 
hi~ and partly to the Government. At the end 
of the letter whirh he wrote to the Tehsildar, he 
stated that the lct.tc-r was written for his informa-
tion. The TehRildar, however, forwarded the letter 
to the i3ub-Divisional Offiet·r v. ho in his turn sent it 
on to the police. The police enquired into the facts 
and reported that the allegations in letter were 
false. 
:Meanwhile, it appears that th~ appellant 
entered into some sort of compromise with Hans 
Raj and Kans Raj and wrote another letter saying_ 
that as they were his relatives and he had found the 
papers and mc,ney, the proceedings if any be dropp-
ed and the papers be consigned to the record room. 
The matter however was pursued fu

Excerpt shown. Read the full judgment & AI analysis in Lexace.