VASANT MOGHE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These criminal appeals may be disposed of by a single judgment. The Trial Court, the Appellate Court and the Court of Revision have concurrently found the appellant guilty of charges under Section 409 Indian Penal Code in two separate cases. Ordinarily we would not have taken a fourth look at the evidence but we did so because some of the findings recorded by the Court of Revision appeared to us to be halting. Having considered the entire evidence and all the facts and circumstances of the case, we are satisfied that the appellant was rightly convicted by the Courts below.

(2.) The appellant was working as a Tahsildar at Dharni from 18th June, 1967 to 24th June, 1968. Pande and Wadhonkar were working under him during that period as Reader and Clerk respectively. As Tahsildar the appellant was incharge of receipt of amounts due to the government by way of revenue, fines etc. The case of the prosecution was that between 2nd February, 1968 and 1st March, 1968 he received a total sum of Rs. 824.20 ps. from sixteen persons towards land revenue and issued receipts to them. The receipts were prepared by Pande and countersigned by the appellant. The amounts covered by the receipts were never credited in the Treasury at Chikhalda. That was the subject matter of the first case. In the second case the allegation was that the appellant had auctioned certain timber and had received a sum of Rs. 1195/- from the auction purchasers. This amount was also not credited to the Government in the Treasury.

(3.) The defence of the appellant was not that the amounts were not received but that the amounts had been handed over on 25th March 1968 to Wadhonkar for the purpose of being remitted into the treasury. A receipt said to have been given to him by Wadhonkar was produced by the appellant. The receipt was in the writing of the appellant but signed by Wadhonkar.