JEEWAN PRAKASH Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal by Special Leave from an Order of the Bombay High Court dismissing the appela in limine.

(2.) The appellant, who was working as a Clerk in the State Bank at Wardha, was committed to the Court of the Sessions to stand trial for the theft of a blank form of a draft, forging it and fraudulently receiving an amount of Rs. 5,450/- from the State Bank of India. He stood charged under Sections 380, 381, 467 and 465 read with Sections 471 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code. The judgment of the learned Sessions Judge covers nearly 70 typed pages and a perusal of it shows that the case of the prosecution dependent on oral, documentary and circumstantial evidence including the evidence as to identification and the testimony of hand writing experts. The appellant was sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for four years and pay a fine of Rs. 6000/- on the charge under Section 467 of the Indian Penal Code; in default of payment of fine he was to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year. He was further sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for one year under Ss. 381 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code. The sentences were to run concurrently.

(3.) The High Court chose to dismiss the appeal of this nature in limine by an order of one word "Dismissed". The position obtaining in such cases was fully examined by this Court in (1968) 2 SCR 88 in which reference was made to earlier decisions dating from Mushtak Hussein v. State of Bombay, (1953) SCR 809 . The following passage may be produced with advantage: