STATE DELHI ADMINISTRATION Vs. DILBAGH RAI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This criminal appeal is directed against the order of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Delhi, dt. 31-3-1975 by which he has acquitted the respondents of the charges framed against them under various I heads such as under Ss. 120-B, 420, 468, 471 and 466. Originally five persons namely Dilbagh Rai, respondent 1, U. C. Madan respondent 2. Bhagwan Dass respondent 3, who is now supposed to have died during the pendency of the appeal and who was supposed to be the recipient of goods were prosecuted. Out of the other two persons who were prosecuted, Dewan Singh, a clerk, was discharged while K. E. Naidu died during the course of trial. We are now left only with respondents 1 and 2 i.e. Dilbagh Rai and U. C. Madan.

(2.) We may give a brief resume of the facts that led to the prosecution of the accused. The allegation against the accused persons as put forward before the court is that the accused K. E Naidu, Dilbagh Rai, U. C. Madan, Dewan Singh and Bhagwan Dass together with some other unknown persons entered into a criminal conspiracy at Delhi in and around 1960 with a common object to cheat the officers of the office of Chief Controller of Imports and Exports New Delhi (hereinafter called C.C.I.E.) with a view to dishonestly get an import licence lor the import of M.E.M. switch fuses on the basis of forged import recommendation certificate and forged copy of Acceptance Tender by making false representation. It is alleged that in pursuance of the said criminal conspiracy Dewan Singh accused who was at the relevant time serving as a clerk in the office of the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports deliberately avoided to make an entry of receipt of genuine duplicate import recommendation certificate bearing special No. 290 issued by Shri A. D. Rao, Director of Supplies and Disposals, Madras, in the name of M/s. Hardcastle Waud & Co., Pvt. Ltd. Bombay for grant of import licence worth Rs. 1045.00 to the said firm of Bombay for the import of Lkinger Patent Reflex gauge glass which was received on 18-1-1960 and this he did even though it was his duty to make an entry about the receipt of the said import recommendation certificate in the I.R.C. Register maintained in the L-VI Branch. It is also stated that pursuant to the aforesaid criminal conspiracy, the accused jointly floated a fictitious concern with the name and style of M/s. Southern Electric Trade Agency Madras and that K. E. Naidu forged the signatures of T. Ramaswamy supposed to be the proprietor of this bogus firm and obtained no objection certificate from the income-tax authorities. Thereafter, he obtained I.V.C. exemption No. IVC/MAD/Exemption/S-450-Madras on the basis of the said no objection certificate again by forging the signatures of T. Ramaswamy as proprietor of the bogus firm. M/s. Southern Electric Trade Agency Madras. Thereafter, the aforesaid IVC exemption number is quoted in the import application submitted by this fictitious firm. They are supposed to have submitted an import application dated 4-3-60 as Government contractor to the C.C.I.E. New Delhi under the covering letter of the same date signed by accused Dilbagh Rai as T. Ramaswamy, the bogus proprietor of the bogus firm for grant of import licence for M.E.M. switch fuses worth Rs. 39185.00.

(3.) In support of their application they furnished a forged import certificate No. Mad/T/4372-J dt. 1-2-60 bearing the same special number 290 purporting to have been issued under the signature of Shri A. D. Rao, Director of Supplies and Disposals Madras and also forged Acceptance of Tender No. Mad/T/4372-J/3925 dt. 23-1-1960 purporting to have been issued under the signatures of N. Venkataraman, Assistant Director of Supplies Madras, both the favour of M/s. Southern Electric Trade Agency Madras, a fictitious firm floated by the accused recommending the grant of import licence for the import of M.E.M. switch fuses worth Rs, 39185.00. Under the aforesaid import application they also requested that the letter of authority may be issued in favour of M/s. B. Hira & Co., 72-73 Old China Bazar Street, Calcutta of which Bhagwan Dass accused is the proprietor.