A few days back the Supreme Court in The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India v. Vimal Kumar Surana has declared that the provisions of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 do not act as a bar against the prosecution of a person who is charged with the allegations which constitute an offence or offences under other laws including the Indian Penal Code (IPC). In holding so the Supreme Court declared that punishment of a person for a same act did not foul of the constitutional safeguard against double-jeopardy when the same act constituted offence under different statutes and therefore the accused could legally be punished under the statutes differently.
The Bench inter alia observed as under;
15. We may add that the respondent could have been simultaneously prosecuted for contravention of Sections 24, 24A and 26 of the Act and for the offences defined under the IPC but in view of the bar contained in Article 20(2) of the Constitution read with Section 26 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 and Section 300 Cr.P.C., he could not have been punished twice for the same offence. In Maqbool Hussain v. The State of Bombay (supra), the Court considered the question whether the appellant who had brought gold from Jeddah in contravention of notification dated 25.8.1948 could have been prosecuted under Section 8 of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947 after the gold had been confiscated by the authorities of the Customs Department under Section 167(8) of the Sea Customs Act, 1878. The appellant challenged his prosecution by contending that this amounted to infringement of his fundamental right under Article 20(2) of the Constitution. The Bombay High Court negatived his challenge. This Court upheld the order of the High Court and observed:
“There is no doubt that the act which constitutes an offence under the Sea Customs Act as also an offence under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act was one and the same viz. importing the gold in contravention of the notification of the Government of India dated 25th August, 1948. The appellant could be proceeded against under Section 167(8) of the Sea Customs Act as also under Section 23 of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act in respect of the said act.
The fundamental right which is guaranteed in Article 20(2) enunciates the principle of “autrefois convict” or “double jeopardy”. The roots of that principle are to be found in the well established rule of the common law of England “that where a person has been convicted of an offence by a court of competent jurisdiction the conviction is a bar to all further criminal proceedings for the same offence”. (Per Charles, J. in Reg v. Miles). To the same effect is the ancient maxim “Nemo bis debet puniri pro uno delicto”, that is to say that no one ought to be twice punished for one offence or as it is sometimes written “pro eadem causa”, that is, for the same cause.
This is the principle on which the party pursued has available to him the plea of “autrefois convict” or “autrefois acquit”. “The plea of ‘autrefois convict’ or ‘autrefois acquit’ avers that the defendant has been previously convicted or acquitted on a charge for the same offence as that in respect of which he is arraigned.... The question for the jury on the issue is whether the defendant has previously been in jeopardy in respect of the charge on which he is arraigned, for the rule of law is that a person must not be put in peril twice for the same offence. The test is whether the former offence and the offence now charged have the same ingredients in the sense that the facts constituting the one are sufficient to justify a conviction of the other, not that the facts relied on by the Crown are the same in the two trials. A plea of ‘autrefois acquit’ is not proved unless it is shown that the verdict of acquittal of the previous charge necessarily involves an acquittal of the latter.” (Vide Halsbury’s Laws of England, Hailsham Edition, Vol. 9, pp. 152 and 153, para 212).
This principle found recognition in Section 26 of the General Clauses Act, 1897,—
`Where an act or omission constitutes an offence under two or more enactments, then the offender shall be liable to be prosecuted and punished under either or any of those enactments but shall not be liable to be punished twice for the same offence,’
and also in Section 403(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1898,
`A person who has been tried by a court of competent jurisdiction for an offence and convicted or acquitted of such offence shall, while such conviction or acquittal remains in force, not be liable to be tried again for the same offence, nor on the same facts for any other offence for which a different charge from the one made against him might have been made under Section 236, or for which he might have been convicted under Section 237’.”
The Court then referred to the provisions of the Sea Customs Act, 1878 and held:
“We are of the opinion that the Sea Customs authorities are not a judicial tribunal and the adjudging of confiscation, increased rate of duty or penalty under the provisions of the Sea Customs Act do not constitute a judgment or order of a court or judicial tribunal necessary for the purpose of supporting a plea of double jeopardy.
It therefore follows that when the Customs authorities confiscated the gold in question neither the proceedings taken before the Sea Customs authorities constituted a prosecution of the appellant nor did the order of confiscation constitute a punishment inflicted by a court or judicial tribunal on the appellant. The appellant could not be said by reason of these proceedings before the Sea Customs authorities to have been “prosecuted and punished” for the same offence with which he was charged before the Chief Presidency Magistrate, Bombay, in the complaint which was filed against him under Section 23 of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act.”
16. In T.S. Baliah’s case, the Court considered the question whether the appellant could be simultaneously prosecuted under Section 177 IPC and for violation of Section 52 of the Income Tax Act, 1922. After noticing Section 26 of the General Clauses Act, the Court held:
“A plain reading of the section shows that there is no bar to the trial or conviction of the offender under both enactments but there is only a bar to the punishment of the offender twice for the same offence. In other words, the section provides that where an act or omission constitutes an offence under two enactments, the offender may be prosecuted and punished under either or both the enactments but shall not be liable to be punished twice for the same offence. We accordingly reject the argument of the appellant on this aspect of the case.”
17. In State of Bombay v. S.L. Apte (1961) 3 SCR 107, the question that fell for consideration was whether in view of an earlier conviction and sentence under Section 409 IPC, a subsequent prosecution for an offence under Section 105 of Insurance Act, 1935, was barred by Section 26 of the General Clauses Act and Article 20(2) of the Constitution. This Court answered the question in following words:
“To operate as a bar the second prosecution and the consequential punishment thereunder, must be for ‘the same offence’. The crucial requirement therefore for attracting the article is that the offences are the same, i.e., they should be identical. If, however, the two offences are distinct, then notwithstanding that the allegations of facts in the two complaints might be substantially similar, the benefit of the ban cannot be invoked. It is, therefore, necessary to analyse and compare not the allegations in the two complaints but the ingredients of the two offences and see whether their identity is made out. . . .
... Though Section 26 in its opening words refers to ‘the act or omission constituting an offence under two or more enactments’, the emphasis is not on the facts alleged in the two complaints but rather on the ingredients which constitute the two offences with which a person is charged. This is made clear by the concluding portion of the section which refers to ‘shall not be liable to be punished twice for the same offence’. If the offences are not the same but are distinct, the ban imposed by this provision also cannot be invoked.”
18. In V.K. Agarwal v. Vasantraj B. Bhatia (1988) 3 SCC 467, this Court considered the question whether the acquittal of an accused charged with having committed an offence punishable under Section 111 read with Section 135 of the Customs Act, 1962 create a legal bar to the subsequent prosecution of the said accused under Section 85 of the Gold (Control) Act, 1968. The Gujarat High Court answered the question in affirmative. This Court reversed the order of the High Court and observed:
“It is therefore evident that the ingredients required to be established in respect of the offence under the Customs Act are altogether different from the ones required to be established for an offence under the Gold (Control) Act. In respect of the former, the prosecution has to establish that there was a prohibition against the import into Indian sea waters of goods which were found to be in the possession of the offender. On the other hand in respect of the offence under the Gold (Control) Act, it is required to be established that the offender was in possession of primary gold meaning thereby gold of a purity of not less than 9 carats in any unfinished or semi-finished form. In regard to the latter offence it is not necessary to establish that there is any prohibition against the import of gold into Indian sea waters. Mere possession of gold of purity not less than 9 carats in any unfinished or semi-finished form would be an offence under the Gold Control Act. It is therefore stating the obvious to say that the ingredients of the two offences are altogether different. Such being the case the question arises whether the acquittal for the offences under the Customs Act which requires the prosecution to establish altogether different ingredients operates as a bar to the prosecution of the same person in connection with the charge of having committed the offence under the Gold (Control) Act.
………In the present case the concerned Respondents could be found guilty of both the offences in the context of the possession of gold. If it was established that there was a prohibition against the import of gold and that he was found in possession of gold which he knew or had reason to believe was liable to confiscation he would be guilty of that offence. He would also be guilty of an offence under the Gold (Control) Act provided the gold is of a purity of at least 9 carats. He would have violated the provisions of “both” the Customs Act and the Gold (Control) Act if the aforesaid ingredients were established. It is not as if in case he was found guilty of an offence under the Customs Act, he could not have been found guilty under the Gold (Control) Act or vice versa. Upon being found guilty of both the offences the court may perhaps impose a concurrent sentence in respect of both the offences but the court has also the power to direct that the sentence shall run consecutively. There is therefore no question of framing of an alternative charge one, under the Customs Act, and the other, under the Gold (Control) Act. If the ingredients of both the offences are satisfied the same act of possession of the gold would constitute an offence both under the Customs Act as also under the Gold (Control) Act. Such being the position it cannot be said that they could have been tried on the same facts for an alternative charge in the context of Section 236 Cr.P.C. at the time of the former proceedings. The submission urged in the context of Section 403(1) cannot therefore succeed for it cannot be said that the persons who are sought to be tried in the subsequent proceedings could have been tried on the same facts at the former trial under Section 236.”
19. In State of Bihar v. Murad Ali Khan (1988) 4 SCC 655, the question considered by the Court was whether the complaint lodged by the competent officer alleging commission of offence under Section 9(1) read with Section 51 for killing elephants and removing its husk was maintainable notwithstanding the pendency of police investigation for an offence under Sections 447, 429 and 479 read with Sections 54 and 39 of the Act. After adverting to the relevant provisions, this Court held:
“What emerges from a perusal of these provisions is that cognizance of an offence under the “Act” can be taken by a court only on the complaint of the officer mentioned in Section 55. The person who lodged complaint dated June 23, 1986 claimed to be such an officer. In these circumstances even if the jurisdictional police purported to register a case for an alleged offence against the Act, Section 210(1) would not be attracted having regard to the position that cognizance of such an offence can only be taken on the complaint of the officer mentioned in that section. Even where a Magistrate takes cognizance of an offence instituted otherwise than in a police report and an investigation by the police is in progress in relation to same offence, the two cases do not lose their separate identity. The section seeks to obviate the anomalies that might arise from taking cognizance of the same offence more than once. But, where, as here, cognizance can be taken only in one way and that on the complaint of a particular statutory functionary, there is no scope or occasion for taking cognizance more than once and, accordingly, Section 210 has no role to play. The view taken by the High Court on the footing of Section 210 is unsupportable.
We are unable to accept the contention of Shri R.F. Nariman that the specific allegation in the present case concerns the specific act of killing of an elephant, and that such an offence, at all events, falls within the overlapping areas between of Section 429 IPC on the one hand and Section 9(1) read with Section 50(1) of the Act on the other and therefore constitutes the same offence. Apart from the fact that this argument does not serve to support the order of the High Court in the present case, this argument is, even on its theoretical possibilities, more attractive than sound. The expression “any act or omission which constitutes any offence under this Act” in Section 56 of the Act, merely imports the idea that the same act or omission might constitute an offence under another law and could be tried under such other law or laws also.
The proviso to Section 56 has also a familiar ring and is a facet of the fundamental and salutary principles that permeate penology and reflected in analogous provisions of Section 26 of General Clauses Act, 1897; Section 71 IPC; Section 300 CrPC 1973, and constitutionally guaranteed under Article 20(2) of the Constitution. Section 26 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 provides:
“26. Provision as to offences punishable under two or more enactments.—Where an act or omission constitutes an offence under two or more enactments, then the offender shall be liable to be prosecuted and punished under either or any of those enactments, but shall not be liable to be punished twice for the same offence.”
Broadly speaking, a protection against a second or multiple punishment for the same offence, technical complexities aside, includes a protection against reprosecution after acquittal, a protection against reprosecution after conviction and a protection against double or multiple punishment for the same offence. These protections have since received constitutional guarantee under Article 20(2). But difficulties arise in the application of the principle in the context of what is meant by “same offence”. The principle in American law is stated thus:
“The proliferation of technically different offences encompassed in a single instance of crime behaviour has increased the importance of defining the scope of the offence that controls for purposes of the double jeopardy guarantee.
Distinct statutory provisions will be treated as involving separate offences for double jeopardy purposes only if ‘each provision requires proof of an additional fact which the other does not’ (Blockburger v. United States). Where the same evidence suffices to prove both crimes, they are the same for double jeopardy purposes, and the clause forbids successive trials and cumulative punishments for the two crimes. The offences must be joined in one indictment and tried together unless the defendant requests that they be tried separately. (Jeffers v. United States)” The expression “the same offence”, “substantially the same offence” “in effect the same offence” or “practically the same”, have not done much to lessen the difficulty in applying the tests to identify the legal common denominators of “same offence”. Friedland in Double Jeopardy (Oxford 1969) says at p. 108:
“The trouble with this approach is that it is vague and hazy and conceals the thought processes of the court. Such an inexact test must depend upon the individual impressions of the judges and can give little guidance for future decisions. A more serious consequence is the fact that a decision in one case that two offences are ‘substantially the same’ may compel the same result in another case involving the same two offences where the circumstances may be such that a second prosecution should be permissible....”
In order that the prohibition is attracted the same act must constitute an offence under more than one Act. If there are two distinct and separate offences with different ingredients under two different enactments, a double punishment is not barred. In Leo Roy Frey v. Superintendent, District Jail, the question arose whether a crime and the offence of conspiracy to commit it are different offences.
This Court said: (SCR p. 827)
“The offence of conspiracy to commit a crime is a different offence from the crime that is the object of the conspiracy because the conspiracy precedes the commission of the crime and is complete before the crime is attempted or completed, equally the crime attempted or completed does not require the element of conspiracy as one of its ingredients. They are, therefore, quite separate offences.”
20. In State of Rajasthan v. Hat Singh (2003) 2 SCC 152, the Court considered the question whether the High Court was right in taking the view that the respondent could have been prosecuted either under Section 5 or Section 6(3) of the Rajasthan Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987 and not under both the sections. The High Court had ruled in favour of the respondent. This Court reversed the judgment of the High Court, referred to Article 20(2) of the Constitution, the judgments in Maqbool Hussain v. The State of Bombay (supra), State of Bombay v. S.L. Apte (supra) and observed:
“The rule against double jeopardy is stated in the maxim nemo debet bis vexari pro una et eadem causa. It is a significant basic rule of criminal law that no man shall be put in jeopardy twice for one and the same offence. The rule provides foundation for the pleas of autrefois acquit and autrefois convict. The manifestation of this rule is to be found contained in Section 26 of the General Clauses Act, 1897, Section 300 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and Section 71 of the Indian Penal Code.
xxx
The Court then proceeded to analyze the relevant sections of the Act and held that the offences under Sections 5 and 6(3) of the Act were distinct and there was no bar against prosecution of the respondent under Section 5 even though his prosecution under Section 6(3) had failed.
21. In view of the above discussion, the argument of the learned senior counsel appearing for the respondent that the Act is a special legislation vis-à-vis IPC and a person who is said to have contravened the provisions of sub-section (1) of Sections 24, 24A, 25 and 26 cannot be prosecuted for an offence defined under the IPC, which found favour with the High Court does not commend acceptance.
Have a look at the decision.
Having written this post, we came across another decision of the Supreme Court [Monica Bedi v. State of A.P.] in which the concept has been examined and has received extensive enuncation. Being of the view of its relevance and for the benefit of our readers, we are extracting the relevant paragraphs of the said decision in this post itself.
Post Script Rejoinder
13. Now we shall take up the first contention of Shri Tulsi as to whether the appellant’s guaranteed fundamental right under Article 20 (2) has been infringed? Article 20 (2) of the Constitution provides that no person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once.
14. Article 20 (2) embodies a protection against a second trial and conviction for the same offence. The fundamental right guaranteed is the manifestation of a long struggle by the mankind for human rights. A similar guarantee is to be found in almost all civilised societies governed by rule of law. The well known maxim ‘nemo delset bis vexari pro eadem causa’ embodies the well established common law rule that no one should be put on peril twice for the same offence. BLACKSTONE referred to this universal maxim of the common law of England that no man is to be brought into jeopardy of his life more than once for the same offence.
15. The fundamental right guaranteed under Article 20 (2) has its roots in common law maxim nemo debet bis vexari - a man shall not be brought into danger for one and the same offence more than once. If a person is charged again for the same offence, he can plead, as a complete defence, his former conviction, or as it is technically expressed, take the plea of autrefois convict. This in essence is the common law principle. The corresponding provision in the American Constitution is enshrined in that part of the Fifth Amendment which declares that no person shall be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb. The principle has been recognised in the existing law in India and is enacted in Section 26 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 and Section 300 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. This was the inspiration and background for incorporating subclause (2) into Article 20 of the Constitution. But the ambit and content of the guaranteed fundamental right are much narrower than those of the common law in England or the doctrine of ‘double jeopardy’ in the American Constitution.
16. In Maqbool Hussain vs. The State of Bombay, this Court explained the scope of the right guaranteed under Article 20 (2) and as to what is incorporated in it as “within its scope the plea of autrefois convict as known to the British jurisprudence or the plea of double jeopardy as it known to the American Constitution but circumscribed it by providing that there should be not only a prosecution but also a punishment in the first instance in order to operate as a bar to a second prosecution and punishment for the same offence.” That in order for the protection of Article 20 (2) to be invoked by a person there must have been a prosecution and as well as punishment in respect of the same offence before a court of law of competent jurisdiction or a tribunal, required by law to decide the matters in controversy judicially on evidence. That the proceedings contemplated therein are in the nature of criminal proceedings before a court of law or a judicial tribunal and the prosecution in this context would mean an initiation or starting of the proceedings of a criminal nature in accordance with the procedure prescribed in the statute which creates the offence and regulates the procedure. This principle is reiterated in S.A. Venkataraman vs. The Union of India & Anr., wherein this Court observed that the words “prosecuted or punished” are not to be taken distributively so as to mean prosecuted or punished. Both the factors must co-exist in order that the operation of the clause may be attracted.”
17. What is the meaning of expression used in Article 20 (2) “for the same offence”? What is prohibited under Article 20 (2) is, the second prosecution and conviction must be for the same offence. If the offences are distinct, there is no question of the rule as to double jeopardy being applicable. In Leo Roy Frey vs. Superintendent District Jail, Amritsar, petitioners therein were found guilty under Section 167 (8) of the Sea Customs Act and the goods recovered from their possession were confiscated and heavy personal penalties imposed on them by the authority. Complaints thereafter were lodged by the authorities before the Additional District Magistrate under Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code read with provisions of the Foreign Exchange Regulations Act, 1947 and the Sea Customs Act. The petitioners approached the Supreme Court for quashing of the proceedings pending against them in the court of Magistrate inter alia contending that in view of the provisions of Article 20 (2) of the Constitution they could not be prosecuted and punished twice over for the same offence and the proceedings pending before the Magistrate violated the protection afforded by Article 20 (2) of the Constitution. This Court rejected the contention and held that criminal conspiracy is an offence under Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code but not so under the Sea Customs Act, and the petitioners were not and could not be charged with it before the Collector of Customs. It is an offence separate from the crime which it may have for its object and is complete even before the crime is attempted or completed, and even when attempted or completed; it forms no ingredients of such crime. They are, therefore, quite separate offences. The Court relied on the view expressed by the United States, Supreme Court in United States vs. Rabinowith. In The State of Bombay vs. S.L. Apte, this Court laid down the law stating that if the offences were distinct there is no question of the rule as to double jeopardy as embodied in Article 20 (2) of the Constitution being applicable. It was the case where the accused were sought to be punished for the offence under Section 105, Insurance Act, after their trial and conviction for the offence under Section 409, Penal Code, this Court held that they were not sought to be punished for the same offence twice but for two distinct offences constituted or made up of different ingredients and therefore the bar of Article 20(2) of the Constitution or Section 26 of the General Clause Act, 1897, was not applicable. This Court made it clear that the emphasis is not on the facts “alleged in the two complaints but rather on the ingredients which constitute the two offences with which a person is charged.” The ratio of the case is apparent from the following:
“To operate as a bar the second prosecution and the consequential punishment thereunder, must be for ‘the same offence’. The crucial requirement therefore for attracting the Article is that the offences are the same, i.e., they should be identical. If, however, the two offences are distinct, then notwithstanding that the allegations of fact in the two complaints might be substantially similar, the benefit of the ban cannot be invoked. It is, therefore, necessary to analyse and compare not the allegations in the two complaints but the ingredients of the two offences and see whether their identity is made out.”
That the test to ascertain is whether two offences are the same and not the identity of the allegations but the identity of the ingredients of the offences.
It is thus clear that the same facts may give rise to different prosecutions and punishment and in such an event the protection afforded by Article 20 (2) is not available. It is settled law that a person can be prosecuted and punished more than once even on substantially same facts provided the ingredients of both the offences are totally different and they did not form the same offence. In Bhagwan Swarup vs. State of Maharashtra, the accused was convicted with regard to a conspiracy to commit criminal breach of trust in respect of the funds of one Jupiter company. There was another prosecution against the accused for the conspiracy to lift the funds of another company, though its object was to cover the fraud committed in respect of the Jupiter company. This Court held that the defalcations made in the Jupiter may afford a motive for new conspiracy, but the two offences are distinct ones. Some accused may be common to both of them, “some of the facts proved to establish the Jupitor conspiracy may also have to be proved to support the motive for the second conspiracy. The question is whether that in itself would be sufficient to make the two conspiracies the one and the same offence. The ingredients of both the offences are totally different and do not form the same offence within the meaning of Article 20 (2) of the Constitution and, therefore, that Article has no relevance.”
18. In State of Rajasthan vs. Hat Singh & Ors., this Court held that the Rajasthan Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987 provided for different offences and punishment for glorification of sati and for violation of prohibitory order against glorification of sati. They are not the same offences. While Section 5 of the said Act makes the commission of an act an offence and punishes the same; the provisions of Section 6 are preventive in nature and make provision for punishing contravention of prohibitory order so as to make the prevention effective. The two offences have different ingredients. This Court held:
“It is, therefore, concluded that in a given case, same set of facts may give rise to an offence punishable under Section 5 and Section 6 (3) both. There is nothing unconstitutional or illegal about it.”
19. This appears to be the consistent view of the Supreme Court of the United States. In T.W. Morgan vs. Alfonso J. Devine @ Ollie Devine, the U.S. Supreme Court observed that the court has settled that the test of identity of offences is whether the same evidence is required to sustain them; if not, then the fact that both charges relate to and grow out of one transaction does not make a single offence where two are defined by the statutes.
20. In United States vs. Vito Lanza, it is held that an act with respect to intoxicating liquor which is denounced as a crime by both the National and State sovereignties may be punished under the law of each sovereignty without infringing the provision of the 5th Amendment to the Federal Constitution against double jeopardy for the same offence. It is observed:
“An act denounced as a crime by both National and State sovereignties is an offence against the peace and dignity of both, and may be punished by each ….. We have here two sovereignties, deriving power from different sources, capable of dealing with the same subject matter within the same territory. Each may, without interference by the other, enact laws to secure prohibition, with the limitation that no legislation can give validity to acts prohibited by the Amendment. Each government, in determining what shall be an offence against its peace and dignity, is exercising its own sovereignty, not that of the other.”
21. Shri K.T.S. Tulsi, learned senior counsel in the present case before us mainly contended that the facts based on which the appellant (Monica Bedi) was prosecuted and punished by a competent court of jurisdiction at Lisbon and the facts based on which prosecution has been initiated resulting in conviction are the same and, therefore, the conviction of the appellant is in the teeth of Article 20 (2) of the Constitution and Section 300 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The submission is not well founded for the simple reason that the same set off facts can constitute offences under two different laws. An act or an omission can amount to and constitute an offence under IPC and at the same time constitute an offence under any other law. It needs no restatement that the bar to the punishment to the offender twice over for the same offence would arise only where the ingredients of both the offences are the same.
22. The question that falls for our consideration is, whether the appellant can be said to have satisfied all the conditions that are necessary to enable her to claim the protection of Article 20 (2) of the Constitution. The charges upon which the appellant has been convicted now, for the charges under the Indian Penal Code, we will presume for our present purpose that the allegations upon which these charges are based, proved, resulting in conviction and punishment of the appellant are substantially the same which formed the subject matter of prosecution and conviction under the penal provisions of Portugal law. But we have no doubt to hold that the punishment of the appellant is not for the same offence.
23. Be that as it may, there is no factual foundation laid as such by the appellant taking this plea before the trial court. Nothing is suggested to the Investigating Officer or to any of the witnesses that she is sought to be prosecuted and punished for the same offence for which she has been charged and convicted by a competent court of jurisdiction at Lisbon. She did not even make any such statement in her examination under Section 313 Cr.P.C. It is true that the fundamental right guaranteed under Article 20 (2) of the Constitution is in the nature of an injunction against the State prohibiting it to prosecute and punish any person for the same offence more than ones but the initial burden is upon the accused to take the necessary plea and establish the same.
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