In Re: Villi Chinnu alias Kandan

Lakshmana Rao, J.—The appellant has been convicted under Sections 457, 380 and 75, Indian Penal Code, and Section 23, Clause 1(b)

of the Criminal Tribes Act and sentenced to the minimum punishment of rigorous imprisonment for seven years u/s 457, Indian Penal Code, and

Section 23, Clause 1(b) of the Criminal Tribes Act. He has also been sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for five years under Sections 380 and

75 of the Indian Penal Code, and the sentences have been directed to run concurrently.

There was house-breaking by night and theft in the building of P.W. 1 on the night of 15th August, 1938, and the evidence is that the appellant

was caught red-handed. The conviction under Sections 457 and 380 of the Indian Penal Code is therefore right and the appellant admitted his

previous convictions. He would therefore be liable to enhanced punishment u/s 75, Indian Penal Code, and Section 23(1)(a) of the Criminal Tribes

Act, but the last conviction was in 1923 when he was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for three months under Sections 457 and 380 of the

Indian Penal Code, and as pointed out in Karuppa Thevan, In Re: Sami Karuppa Thevan, , the long interval of time between the last conviction

and the commission of the present offence is a special reason to the contrary within the meaning of Section 23(1)(b) of the Criminal Tribes Act.

The sentence of the appellant is therefore reduced to rigorous imprisonment for two years for each of the offences and the sentences will run

concurrently-Otherwise the appeal is dismissed.