NANDINI MALLAYYA Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has sought for anticipatory bail under section 438 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 in Crime No.113/2019 of Maski Police Station, registered for the offences punishable under sections 406 and 420 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 (hereinafter for brevity referred to as ' IPC ').

(2.) The summary of the case of the prosecution is that one Sri Umesh B.S. - accused No.1, the Manager of Karnataka Warehousing Corporation, has released the paddy stock of accused no.2 without receiving the discharge certificate from the complainant - Bank. The accused no.2 had pledged 5556 bags of paddy and the same was received by accused No.1 under receipts. Those paddy bags were stored with Karnataka Warehousing Corporation, which were under lien of the complainant - Bank. However, when the complainant - Bank inspected the warehouse, it noticed only 1078 bags in stock and remaining 4478 bags were found missing. The complainant, alleging that the present petitioner who is accused No.2, in collusion with accused No.1, cheated the bank with malafide intention, has lodged a complaint in respondent station Crime No.113/2019 registered for the offences punishable under sections 406 , 420 of IPC.

(3.) According to the complainant itself, the responsibility of maintaining all the paddy stock said to be under lien of the complainant - Bank appears to be that of accused No.1. Canvassing the same point, learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that if at all there is any shortage in the alleged quantity of the paddy, the same would be directly attributable to the accused No.1, but not to the present petitioner.