STATE OF GUJARAT Vs. PRIYAKANT TRIBHOVANDAS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this appeal under Section 378 of the Code of the Criminal Procedure, 1973 ("Code" for short), the appellant-State of Gujarat has questioned the validity and legality of the acquittal order passed by the Learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Junagadh in Criminal Case No. 4428 of 1981, passed on 30-6-1983. The resume of the material facts leading to the rise of this appeal, may be shortly stated at this stage:

(2.) The respondent is the original accused who was charged for the offences punishable under Sections 409, 465, 467 477A and 201 of the Indian Penal Code in the Court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, at Junagadh. According to the case of the prosecution the accused was working as Upper Division Clerk in Junagadh Head Post Office, during the period of year 1979. In the year 1979 the accused destroyed the specimen signature card of one Shantilal Ranchhod bearing Saving Account No. 406825 and substituted the specimen signature card committing a forgery. The said account was opened by Prosecution Witness No. 3-Shantilal Ranchhod, on 5-12-1966 by depositing Rs. 1,000/-. The last balance in the said account was Rs. 2437.00 paise on 8-7-1972. Thereafter no transaction was made by account-holder-Shantilal Ranchhod in the said account. The account-holder Shantilal Ranchhod went to post office for withdrawal of Rs. 1,000/-on 12-11-1979 and at that time he was informed that his saving bank account was closed after the withdrawal of the full amount with effect from 4-10-1979.

(3.) It is also the prosecution case that on enquiry it was found that the accused obtained a duplicate pass book of the said account held by Shantilal Ranchhod and the original specimen signature card was destroyed and it was substituted by a new forged specimen signature card by the accused. As per the case of the prosecution the accused had intermittently, withdrawn an amount of Rs. 3420.25 paise from the account of Shantilal Ranchhod in the year of 1979 with the heler of withdrawal forms the accused hes withdrawn following amounts off the following days: <FRM>JUDGEMENT_47_LAWS(GJH)3_19921.htm</FRM>