KRISHNA DEV Vs. CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These two criminal appeals are being decided by this common judgment because these two appeals arise from a common judgment dtd. 22/12/2011, passed by the learned Special Judge, Anti-Corruption (C.B.I.) Uttarakhand, Dehradun in C.B.I. Case No. 4 of 1997 "CBI v. Shri Krishna Dev", whereby the appellant-Krishna Dev has been convicted and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year along with a fine of Rs.80,000.00 for the offence punishable under Sec. 120B of IPC. The appellant-Krishna Dev has been further convicted and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year along with a fine of Rs.40,000.00 in the offence punishable under Sec. 420 of IPC, with the default clause. Both the sentences are directed to run concurrently.

(2.) The appellant-Om Prakash has been convicted and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year along with a fine of Rs.65,000.00 for the offence punishable under Sec. 120B of IPC. The appellant-Om Prakash has been further convicted and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year along with a fine of Rs.35,000.00 in the offence punishable under Sec. 420 of IPC, with the default clause. Both the sentences are directed to run concurrently.

(3.) According to the prosecution, CBI, during the year 1989-1993, the appellant-accused Krishna Dev was a peon in the Income Tax Office, Haridwar and the appellant-Om Prakash was a Clerk in Oriental Bank of Commerce, Haridwar. Both the appellants along with co-accused persons agreed to cheat the Income Tax Department on the basis of forged documents to the tune of Rs.4,09,447.00 and, in pursuance of the said agreement Krishan Kumar dishonestly and falsely prepared refund voucher no. 664297 dtd. 13/7/1992 for Rs.61,999.00 in the name of fictitious and non-existent person Shri Ajit Kumar, R/o Jassa Ram Road, Haridwar for the assessment year 1990-1991 and Shri Krishan Kumar also dishonestly prepared false advice and counterfoil of the aforesaid refund voucher and V.B. Singh dishonestly and falsely issued the aforesaid refund voucher and advice under his signature and on 25/6/1992 an SB Account No. 10877 was opened with an initial deposit of Rs.25.00 only in the fictitious name of Shri Ajit Kumar in the Oriental Bank of Commerce, Haridwar and the aforesaid account was dishonestly introduced by Om Prakash and in the said account the aforesaid refund voucher was deposited on 1/8/1992 and subsequently the amount was withdrawn and Krishan Kumar also dishonestly prepared refund voucher no. 664372 dtd. 22/7/1992 for Rs.37,999.00, its counterfoil and advice in the name of fictitious person Deepak Kumar, R/o Jwalapur Road, Haridwar and V.B. Singh dishonestly issued the refund voucher and advice under his signature and on 25/7/1992 an SB Account No. 10920 was opened in the name of fictitious person Deepak Kumar in the Oriental Bank of Commerce, Haridwar and the said account was also dishonestly introduced by Om Prakash and the said refund voucher was credited in this account and subsequently the amount was withdrawn from the bank and Shri Krishan Kumar dishonestly prepared refund voucher no. 353323 dtd. 31/3/1993 for Rs.18060.00, refund voucher no. 353367 dtd. 31/3/1993 for Rs.12900.00, refund voucher no. 353440 dtd. 10/5/1993 for Rs.1700.00, refund voucher no. 353556 dtd. 31/5/1993 for Rs.24500.00, refund voucher no. 353206 dtd. 10/3/1993 for Rs.14910.00, and its counterfoils and credit advices in the name of fictitious persons namely Shri Mukesh Kumar, R/o Devpura, Haridwar, Mukesh Kumar, R/o S.N. Nagar, Haridwar, Mukesh Kumar, R/o S.N. Nagar, Haridwar, Mukesh Kumar, R/o Devpura, Haridwar and Mukesh Kumar, R/o S.N. Nagar, Haridwar, respectively and V.B. Singh dishonestly and falsely issued all the aforesaid vouchers and advices under his signatures and on 25/1/1993 an SB Account No. 8025 was opened with an initial deposit of Rs.100.00 in the name of fictitious persons Shri Mukesh Kumar in Bank of Baroda, Haridwar and Shri Bhagat Ram dishonestly introduced the said account holder in the bank and the said refund vouchers were deposited in the said account and subsequently the said amount was withdrawn and Krishan Kumar also dishonestly prepared refund voucher no. 353172 dtd. 19/2/1993 for Rs.14180.00 for the assessment year 1991-1992 in the name of fictitious person Suresh Chand, Contractor, BHEL, Haridwar, refund voucher no. 353597 dtd. 31/5/1993 for Rs.19310.00 in the name of fictitious person Suresh Chand, R/o 105/II, BHEL, Haridwar, refund voucher no. 353467 dtd. 10/5/1993 for Rs.15060.00 in the name of fictitious person Suresh Chand, R/o Sharvan Nath Nagar, Haridwar, refund voucher no. 353383 dtd. 27/4/1993 for Rs.18880.00 in the name of Suresh Chand, R/o S.N. Nagar, Haridwar, refund voucher no. 353228 dtd. 16/3/1993 for Rs.14360.00 in the name of fictitious person Suresh Chand, Contractor, Haridwar and refund voucher no. 353253 for Rs.33930.00 in the name of fictitious person Suresh Chand, R/o S.N. Nagar, Haridwar, its corresponding counterfoils and advices and V.B. Singh falsely and dishonestly issued the said refund vouchers and advices under his signatures and an SB Account No. 4674 was opened in the syndicate Bank, Haridwar in the name of fictitious person Shri Suresh Kumar R/o Jassa Ram Road, Haridwar and Shri Krishan Dev dishonestly introduced the fictitious account holder in the bank and two refund voucher nos. i.e. refund voucher no. 353597 for Rs.19310.00 and refund voucher no. 353467 for Rs.15060.00 were deposited in the said account and subsequently the amount of the said vouchers was withdrawn from the bank and Shri Krishan Kumar also dishonestly and falsely prepared refund voucher no. 353546 dtd. 14/5/1993 for Rs.12700.00 in the name of Raju Thekedar, R/o Brahmpuri, Haridwar. In fact the said Raju Thekedar was not entitled to obtain refund voucher and is corresponding counterfoil and advice. V.B. Singh dishonestly issued the said refund voucher and its advice under his signature and the said refund voucher was deposited in the account no. 5908 of Raju Thekedar S/o Late Shri Rajendra Prasad Gupta R/o Brahmpuri, Haridwar in Bareilly Co-operative Bank Ltd., Haridwar and subsequently the said amount was withdrawn by Raju and Krishan Kumar also prepared refund voucher no. 353599 dtd. 10/5/1993 for Rs.11,000.00 in the name of Krishan Kumar S/o Shri Satya Prakash of Haridwar, refund voucher no. 353444 dtd. 10/5/1993 for Rs.17880.00 in the name of Krishan Kumar, its corresponding counterfoils and advices and V.B. Singh dishonestly issued these refund voucher and advices under his signatures and the said refund voucher were deposited into the account no. 14089 of Shri Krishan Kumar in State Bank of India, Main Branch, Haridwar and subsequently the aforesaid amount was withdrawn by Shri Krishan Kumar and Krishan Kumar also dishonestly prepared refund voucher 353447 dtd. 10/5/1993 for Rs.16660.00 in the name of Shri Vishnu Datt, R/o S.N. Nagar, Haridwar, refund voucher no. 353368 dtd. 31/3/1993 for Rs.14,999.00 in the name of fictitious person Shri Vishnu Datt, Thekedar, Haridwar and refund voucher no. 353275 dtd. 24/3/1993 for Rs.33120.00 in the name of Vishnu Datt, Thekedar of Haridwar and their corresponding advices and counterfoils and V.B. Singh dishonestly issued the said refund vouchers and advices under his signatures and all the aforesaid refund vouchers were deposited in the SB Account No. 1222 of fictitious person Shri Vishnu Datt R/o Bhutani Bhawan, Jassaram Road, Haridwar in the State Bank of India, Haridwar and subsequently, the aforesaid amounts of refund vouchers was withdrawn from the bank.