§ MR. W. S. CAINE (Bradford, E.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for India, if his attention has been directed to the report of a sentence of five years' rigorous imprisonment inflicted by the Sessions Judge at Howrah upon a prisoner charged before him with stealing a few vegetables from a field; and, if so, will he call for an inquiry into the truth of the report?
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIA (Mr. HENRY FOWLER,) WolverhamptonI have not seen any report of such a case, but I am informed that the man must have been, an habitual offender, or he would not have been committed to the Sessions. Every sentence passed by a Sessions Court is reported to the High Court, and the 794 High Court can revise it either of its own motion or upon petition by the person sentenced. If my hon. Friend will supply me with the facts of this case, I will consider whether further inquiry should be made.