RAMAN S Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner S. Raman, in the Criminal Revision Petition No. 267 of 1976 is the 8th accused in Sessions Case No. 21 of 1975 on the file of the III Additional Sessions Judge, Bangalore City. He has filed this revision petition assailing the conectness and legality of the order of the Sessions Judge dated 9-4-1976 granting pardon to A-4 Natarajan and A-9 Keerthivasna.

(2.) The facts leading up to the filing of this revision petition may be stated as follows: The Corps of Detectives, Bangalore, placed a charge-sheet against 14 accused persons including the revision petitioner before the Metropolitan Magistrate, VI Court, Bangalore for offences punishable under Ss. 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, 472, 409; 411 and 489A IPC and Ss. 52 and 70 of the Post Office Act read with S.120-B of the IPC on the allegations that all 14 accused persons between 23-8-1971 and 21-10-1971 at Bangalore, Madras, Madurai, Melur, Tuticorn, Trivandrum, Thiruchirapalli and Coimbatore entered into a criminal conspiracy, the common design being to cheat the State Bank of India, Bangalore City and Bangalore Cantonment Branches by opening current accounts in the names of fictitious persons, obtaining cheque books and pay-in-slip books from the Bank to operate the accounts in the names of false and fictitious persons, counterfeiting mail transfer blank forms of the Bank by getting them printed on the strength of the stolen genuine mail transfer advice forms of the bank, forging huge amounts on the faked and counterfeit mail transfer advice forms and the list ot originating credit forms by writing names of false and fictitious persons as remitters and also writing the names of false and fictitious persons as beneficiaries in whose names the current accounts were opened in the State Bank of India branches in Bangalore and by drawing the amounts mentioned in the forged and counterfeit mail transfer advice forms through cheques alter such amounts were transferred to their accounts ih the Bank and cheated the Bank to the tune of over Rs.2 lakhs

(3.) The case was received in the court of the Sessions Judge, Bangalore Metropolitan area on commitment and taken on file in SC. No. 21 of 1975. Accused Nos. 1, 2 and 4 to 13 were on bail and accused NOS. 3 and 14 were in judicial custody at the time of the commitment. Soon after the commitment of the case, the Public Prosecutor filed an application on 1-3-1975 under S. 307 Cr.PC. for tendering pardon A-4 Natarajan and A-9 Keerthivasan who were accomplices and have confessed before the Tahsidar-Magistrate giving full and true disclosure of the whole of the circumstances which were within their knowledge relating to the offences and the persons concerned in the case with a view to obtain their evidence at the trial of the case in which they have directly and indirectly concerned. Issue of summons, to A4 and A9 was ordered returnable by 5-8-1975. On 5-8-1975 both A-4 and A-9 appeared in pursuance of the summons issued to them. Both of them filed separate applications under S. 307 Cr.PC. requesting to grant pardon to them as they were ready and willing to become approvers and were prepared to make full and true disclosure if the whole of the circumstances within their knowledge relating to the offences and every other person concerned as principal or abettor in the commission thereof.