LexSARJUG RAI AND OTHERS versus THE STATE OF BIHAR
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768 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1958) 19S7 No arguments were addressed to this court on the 1asw01t1 Singh correctness of the finding of the High Court in regard n.. Stat•v~f PUlf/ab to the conviction for receiving illegal gratification -- from Pal Singh. We agree with the opinion of the Kapur/. High Court that the offence under s. 5(1)(d) of receiving illegal bribe of Rs. 50 has been made out and would therefore dismiss this appeal. 1957 October 28. Appeal dismissed. SARJUG RAI AND OTHERS II. THE STATE OF BIHAR (B. P. SINHA and J. L. KAPUR, JJ.) Criminal Revisfun-Enhancement of sentence-PoweT of High Com"t-Enhancement beyond the maximum sentence imposable by trial Court-Code of Criminal Procedure (V of 1898), ss. 31 and 439. The appellants were tried before an Assistant Ses8ions Judge for the offence of dacoity under s. 395 Indian Penal Code. Under s. 31 (3) Code of Criminal Procedure, (as it then stood) the Assistant Sessions Judge could award a maximum sentence of seven years rigorous imprisonmel}t. He convicted the appellants and sentenced them to five years rigorous inprisonment each. The appellants appealed to the High Court, and the High Court, in its revisional juris- diction, issued a notice to the appellants for enhancement of sentence. The High Court dismissed the appeal and enhanced the sentence to ten years rigorous imprisonment. Held, that the High Court had, in its revisional jurisdic- tion under s. 439 Code of Criminal Procedure, the power to enhance the sentence beyond the limit of the maximum sentence that could have been imposed by the trial C-0urt. Bed Ra; v. The State of Uttar Pradesh, (1955) I S.C.R. 583, referred to. CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal No. 165 of 1957. Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated the 4th August, 1955, of the Patna High Court in Criminal Appeal No. 699 of 1953 with Crimi- nal Revision No. 205 of 1954, arising out of the judg- ment and order dated the 12th December, 1953, of S.C.R. SUPREME COURT REPORTS 769 the Court of· the Assistant Sessions Judge, Second Court Chapra in Trial No. 70 of 1953. G. C. Mathur, for the appellants. S. P. Varma, for the respondent. 1957. ociober 28. The following judgment of the · Court was delivered by SINHA J.-The only question for determination in this appeal is whether the High Court in its revisional jurisdiction, has the power to enhance the sentence, as it has done in the instant case, beyond the limit of the maximum sentence that could have been impos- ed by the trial court, on the accused persons. The appellants, along with others, were placed on their trial before the Assistant Sessions Judge of Cha:pra in the district of Saran, for the offence of dacotty under s .. 39l), Indian Penal Code. They, along with two others, were convicted under s. 395, Indian Penal Code, and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for 5 years, by the Assistant Sessions Judge, by his Judg- ment and order dated .December 12, 1953. The other accused were acquitted. The convicted ,persons pre- ferred an appeal to the High Court at Patna. The High Court, in its revisional jurisdiction, while admit- ting the appeal, called upon the appellants to show cause why, in the event of their convictions being maintained, their sentence should not be enhanced. The appeal and the rule for enhancement of sentence were heard . together by a Division Bench of that Court. The High Court, by its judgment and order dated August 4, 1955, . allowed the appeal· of two of the appellants and acquitted them but maintained the conviction as against the remaining six appellants. On the question of sentence, the High Court observed that the "offence of dacoity has increased tremend- ously. It is a very heinous offence as innocent persons, while sleeping in their houses, are attacked and their belongings are taken by force." The High Court, there- fore, was of the opinion that a sentence of five years' rigorous imprisonment was !'extremely inadequate". It, therefore, enhanced the sentence to 10 years' rigor- ous imprisonment in each case. The appellants, six in number, moved this Court and obtained special leave L2SC/6lP.Vf-3 1957 SarjugRai and Others v. The State of Biha, Sinha J. 770 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1958] 1957 to appeal limited to the question of sentence only, the Sarjug Rai question being whether the High Court had· the juris- and e:hers diction to enhanc
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