SARDUL SINGH Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These seven Criminal Appeals (Nos. 97-D to 99-D and 101-D to 104-D of 1963), which arise out of a trial in which as many as 47 persons were committed by Shri J. C. Aggarwal. Special Magistrate, Delhi, on 2nd March, 1962 on charges under section 120-B, read with sections 465, 466 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code (there being additional charges against some of the accused persons), shall stand disposed of by this judgment. It may be mentioned that the learned Additional Sessions Judge has delivered a Judgment covering 475 pages and the number of documents and the amount of evidence which has been led are numerous and voluminous. Accused Nos. I to 39 may be grouped under the heading "passengers". Accused Nos, 40 to 42 were the Managing Director, the Director and the Manager repectively of the International Travels India Private, Limited, New Delhi (here- inafter called the International Travels). Accused No. 43 was the erstwhile Director and a promoter of the International Travels. Accused Nos. 44 to 46 were stated to be the associates of accused Nos. 40 to 42 and accused No. 47 was the Port Registration Officer at Cochin. Out of the passengers 12 were acquitted and 27 were convicted under section 120-B, read with sections 465, 466 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code. It is unnecessary to mention the sentences imposed on them as they have not appealed. As regards accused Nos. 40 and 41 A. N. Gautam and Chanan Singh, the Managing Director and the Director of the International Travels respectively, they were convicted under section 120-B, read with sections 465, 466 and 471 and sentenced to three years' rigors us imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 10,000.00 each. In default of payment of fine it was ordered that they would undergo further rigorous imrisomnent for six months each. Both of them were also convicted under section 466, read with section 109, Indian Penal Code, and sentenced to one year's ligorous imprisonment each, the sentences being concurrent. Accused No. 42 Sardul Singh, the Manager of the International Travels, was convicted under section 120-B, read with sections 465, 466 and 471 and sentenced to ligorous imprisonment for six months. Accused Nos. 43 and 44, Rup Lal and Kapil Dev, were convicted under section 12D-B, read with sections 465, 466 and 471 and sentenced to four months' ligorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 2,000.00 each. In default of payment of fine they were to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for three months each. They were also convicted under section 466, read with section 109, of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to three months' ligorous imprisonment each, the sentences being concurrent. Accused No. 45 Darshan Singh was convicted under section 120-B, read with section 465, 466 and 471 and sentences to one year's ligorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 2,000.00. In default of payment of fine he was to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for three months. He was also convicted under section 466, read with section 109, and sentenced to six months' rigorous imprisonment, the sentences being concurrent. Accused No. 46 Harbhajan Singh was convicted under section 120-B, read with sections 465, 466 and 471, and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for four months and a fine of Rs. 1,000.00. In default of payment of fine he was to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for two months. Accused No. 47 was acquitted honourably. It would be useful to mention at this stage that Chaman Lal, one of the alleged co-conspirators, had turned an approver and the Court was of the opinion that he had made a full and true disclosure of all the circumstances within his knowledge relating to the offence and to the accused persons and that he had earned his pardon. It was directed that he be discharged. The present appeals have been filed by A. N. Gautam, Chanan Singh, Sardul Singh, Rup Lal, Kapil Dev, Darshan Singh and Harbhajan Singh, all of whom were either officeholders of the International Travels or were stated to be closely associated with it. They will be hereinafter collectively called wherever necessary "travel agents".

(2.) According to the prosecution, the passangers, the travel agents and the Port Registration Officer were parties to a criminal conspiracy during the period 1956 to October 1959, having for its objects the doing or causing to be done illegal acts and acts which were not illegal by illegal means, namely, to obtain fraudulently passports from persons of various places and after obtaining the same to forge them, in the manner which would be mentioned at a later stage, and to forge other travel documents and to use the forged passports and other travel documents as genuine and to enable the intending passengers to proceed to United Kingdom and other foreign countries under either assumed names or assumed parentage. It was alleged that the accused passengers sailed by the ship M.V. Roma" on 14th October, 1959 from Cochin. They travelled on the strength of passports (Exhibits P. 1 to P. 20) containing forged entries and endorsements and ether travel documents which hall turned out to be forged and that with the exception of four accused persons (Nos. 8, 14, 17 and 19), the passengers did net travel in their own names. It is cominon ground that the passage of the passengers was bocked through the International Travels, who were one of the recognised agents of Messrs Harrisons and Crossfield limited, Cochin, who were the general agents for India for Lauro Lines. The reason and the motive behind the activities of the conspirators was stated to be the avowed policy of the Government regarding granting of passports to Indians who were anxious to go abroad. The Government did not want illterate or somi-illiterate persons to go to United Kingdom and other European countries for paddling and other petty jobs and for that purpose even the work cf issuing passports came to be entrusted to the Regional Passport Officer, New Delhi, instead of the State Governments in 1954. Thus, according to the prosecution, the travel agents employed various means to make spunious documents for which they charged heavy amounts from the passengers, most of whom wanted to go abroad at any cost on the prospect that they would earn a lot of money there either as laboure's, factory or manual workers, paddlers or by pursuing similar vocations.

(3.) At this stage the background in which the conspiracy came to light may be stated. The International Travels had booked passage of 199 persons on M.V. Roma, which was to sail from Cochin on 14th October, 1959. The police of the Criminal Investigation Department received information before the ship was to sail that a number of uneducated and unskilled labourers were going to United Kingdom by this ship on forged passports and other travel documents. Information was sent to appropriate authorities at Cochin and Madras saying that about 20 to 30 persons were expected to sail by that ship on such forged documents. Inspite of this all the passengers were allowed to embark on board the ship. Thereafter similar information was passed on to the Indian Embassy at Rome in Italy. The first Secretary to the Embassy there made arrangements for the checking up of the passports as soon as the ship M.V. Roma touched Ganga on 29th October, 1959. After the checking had been done by Shri Gangoli Public Witness . 161, who had been deputed for the purpose, he was not satisfied about the genuineness of the passports and travel documents relating to accused Nos. I to 22. They were handed over to the Italian authorities and were put up in Immigration Camps. Accused Nos. 23 to 89 out of the passengers, who were said to be travelling on British passports, were not permitted by the British Immigration authorities to land when they reached United Kingdom and they were detained in prison, because their passports were suspected to contain forged entries. Fifty-two passengers, including accused Nos. 23 to 89, were sent back to India in a chartered flight which landed at Santa Cruz Airport in Bombay on 4th November, 1959. It is alleged that for the first time accused Nos. 23 to 39 offered to give their correct names and particulars and it was found that they differed from these mentioned in their embarkation cards and the documents of identity. Subsequently other passengers also arrived in India and their statements were recorded. It: is unnecessary to give the details about the statements made by thse various passengers and groups of passengers on which the first information reports cams to be lodged. All that need be stated is that the first information report in respect of 52 persons, including the passengers, was recorded at the instance of Shri Dalip Singh, City Inspector, Jullundur, on 14th November, 1959. It was stated inter alia in that report that a gang of passport rocketeers had established travelling agencies at Jullundur and some other cities. The agents of these travelling agencies charged heavy amounts ranging from Rs. 2.000.00 to Rs. 7,000.00 for sending persons anxious to go to United Kingdom and other countries through bogus and forged passports. Information had been received from reliable sources that the agents of Messrs Ranjit Travelling Agency, Messrs Kapoor Travels, Post Office Road, Jullunder City, Messre T. Singh, Amar Basera Buildings, G.T. Road, Jullundur City and other travelling agencies at Jullundur had cheated and dishonestly induced many persons intending to go abroad to pay them heavy amounts under the pretext of making passports and affording passage facilities. Although the name of International Travel's was not mentioned, but it is common ground that this concern had a branch office at Jullundur.