JOSEPH VARGHESE Vs. N J MATHEW

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS Revision Petition has been filed by the accused in C. C. 358/60 on the file of the Sub Divisional Magistrate of Quilon. The prosecution was started on a private complaint launched by Pw. 1, the Director of a limited concern by name "n. C. John & Sons Ltd. ," Alleppey. The accused was the Manager of the said concern at its Mangad branch. The firm deals in coir business. The head office used to send money to the branch managers to purchase coir from local customers. They had to maintain proper accounts of the monies received and expended in the purchase of coir. For July 1960 Pw. 1 noticed that the accused was neither sending coir nor statements of accounts to the head office and suspecting that there was something wrong, he visited the branch office on 18-8-1960. The accused was not available and the office was closed. Pw. 2 the watch-man could give no information about his whereabouts and Pw. 1 gave information to the Kundara Police Station. The police registered a case and had the room opened and seized the account books maintained in the office and entrusted the same to the complainant. After investigation no charge sheet was laid by the police and so Pw. 1 filed a private complaint.

(2.) THE specific charges against the accused were that on 31-12-59 the accused was entrusted with a sum of Rs. 2,500/- duly acknowledged by him, but in Ext. P2 the Day Book kept by him in the Branch office only a sum of Rs. 2000/- was entered as having been received and thereby he had misappropriated Rs. 500/ -. Again on 25-1-1960 the accused had received a sum of Rs. 15,000/- by telegraphic transfer through the Quilon branch of the Travancore Bank and acknowledged its receipt to the head office, but in Ext. P2 he had entered only Rs. 10,000/- and thus misappropriated the balance of Rs. 5000/ -. Thirdly, on 25-4-60 the accused admittedly received a sum of Rs. 50/- from the head office, but the amount was not at all entered in the account book. Charges were framed against him for criminal breach of trust and falsification of accounts.

(3.) NOW the accused's case is that the amount has not been misappropriated by him and accounts have not been falsified because the actual sums received were shown in the account book Ext. D2 which also was in the office when the police opened the office. It is true that Ext. D2 was one of the books entrusted to Pw. 1 by the Police. The case of the accused is that Ext. P-2 is a rough book wherein the monies entrusted to Pw. 5 alone are entered. It is curious that when Pw. 6 was examined. there was no such case and he was not asked about it. The entries in the account book Ext. P2 belies this case. In every page the accused has totalled up and initialled. If it is a book kept by Pw. 5 why should the accused have totalled up and signed it. The courts below were, therefore justified in not placing any reliance on Ext. D2 which appears to have been written up at a stretch for purpose of his own , probably to hoodwink the head office. The giving of a false explanation is an element which the court can take into consideration.