In Re: Oomayyan alias Muthiah Thevan

Yahya Ali, J.—The accused has been convicted u/s 379 of the Indian Penal Code by the Sub-Magistrate of Uttamapalayam and u/s 341 of

the Code of Criminal Procedure the case has been submitted to this Court as the accused is a deaf and dumb person and was as such unable to

understand the proceedings. The conviction is based upon the finding that the accused, by signs, admitted the offence in Court and that before the

police he had also by signs pointed out the stolen property. It is not easy to see how even with the help of the brother of the accused who is said to

have helped the Court in interpreting the Court''s proceedings to the accused, it was possible to come to the conclusion that the accused admitted

all the ingredients required to constitute an offence u/s 379 of the Indian Penal Code in an unequivocal manner. Even with regard to the pointing out

of the stolen property it would only be by gestures which could conceivably admit of theories other than that he himself had stolen the property or

concealed it there with the knowledge that it was stolen. In the case of a person of this description I do not consider it safe to act on mere gestures

of this kind either to infer that he was the thief or to hold that he admitted the offence in Court. The conviction is set aside and the accused is

directed to be set at liberty forthwith.