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TMI Blog1960 (8) TMI 109X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... le the latter was taking Mst. Lichhma with him after having arrested her in pursuance of a warrant issued by the Sub-divisional Magistrate of Nohar and he rescued her from the custody of Ganpat Singh. It was also held that he used criminal force and assaulted the Police officer while lie was performing his duty. In this appeal, it is contended that the warrant issued by the magistrate was illegal inasmuch as it did not bear the seal of the court and the action of the accused in obstructing and in rescuing Mst. Lichhma was therefore not punishable under Sections 353 and 225B I.P.C. In support of the contention, the decisions in- 1. Alter Caufman v. Government of Bombay ILR 18 Bom 636; 2. In re James Hastings 9 Bom HC 154; 3. Mahajan Sh ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f a seal on a warrant of arrest renders it void and invalid and obstruction to the execution of such a warrant of arrest is not punishable by Sections 225 and 353 I.P.C. 3. In ILR 18 Bom 636 the petitioner Alter Caufman was arrested by the Police in pursuance of a warrant of arrest issued by the Governor of Bombay under Act No. Ill of 1864. The petitioner was a foreigner and he in spite of an order of the Government to leave India, remained at Bombay. A warrant of arrest was therefore issued and he was arrested in execution of the same. An application for a writ of habeas corpus was filed in the High Court of Bombay and a rule was issued for the production of the petitioner before the Court. The warrant under which the petitioner was arr ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... an offence under Section 225 I.P.C. It was observed that: Under Section 75, Criminal P.C., every warrant must bear the seal of the Court and there is authority for holding that the omission of the seal on a warrant renders it void and a person offering resistance to apprehension on such a warrant does not commit an offence under Section 225B, I.P.C. The decisions in ILR 42 Cal 708 : AIR 1915 Cal 737 and ILR 18 Bom 636 were relied upon. 7. In King v. Maung Po Shein AIR 1939 Rang 320 a warrant was defective inasmuch as no seal of the court was affixed thereon. Resistance was offered to the execution of the warrant and the persons offering resistance were prosecuted for an offence under Section 225B I.P.C. It was held by the High Cou ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... an illustration to Section 537 referred to the defect of initialing a warrant instead of signing it as being cured by Section 537. The defect of initialing a warrant was regarded similar to the defect of the absence of a seal and by way of analogy it was held that the defect of the absence of the seal was an irregularity only. It may be noted that by the Criminal Procedure Amendment Act, 1923, the illustration on which ratio decidendi was based in Girdharilal's case has been deleted and the position therefore would remain as it was before the illustration was added. Moreover, the defect of initialing a warrant cannot be regarded to be a defect at par with that of the defect of the absence of a seal. Putting initials may be regarded ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rsons including Pangir. The learned Sessions Judge, who heard the appeal, acquitted all of them, except Pangir for the reason that there was insufficient evidence to establish their identity among those who took part in the occurrence. The learned Judge failed to record a finding as to the number of persons, who, in his opinion, took part in rescuing Mst. Lichhma. We shall, therefore, have to examine whether five or more persons participated in the commission of the offence. In his report the Head Constable mentioned that Pangir and 14 others rescued Mst. Lichhma by use of criminal force. He named three of them only and stated that he could identify the rest by faces. In course of the investigation, other accused persons were also named ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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