(1.) The accused/respondents herein, along with six other accused, who were arrayed as A-1 and A-10, were charged and tried before the learned Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Egmore, Chennai, in C.C. No.3666/99 for the for the offences u/s 467, 471 r/w 193, 471, 467 r/w 271 and 193 IPC and after trial, the trial court found the accused guilty, convicted and sentenced A-1, A-2, A-4, A-7 and A-8 to undergo imprisonment for various terms and to pay fine, while acquitting A-5, A-6, A-9 and A-10. A-3 died pending trial and, therefore, the charge against A-3 stood abated. Challenging the conviction and sentence imposed by the trial court, A-1, A-2, A-4, A-7 an A-8 filed appeal in C.A. Nos.281 and 282 of 2006 and the lower appellate court, after hearing and on considering the materials available on record, reversed the said conviction and sentence and, accordingly, acquitted the appellants therein. The respondent, aggrieved by the said order of acquittal in and by which the judgment of the trial court was reversed, has preferred the present appeal insofar as A-1, A-2, A-3 and A-7 are concerned. However, pending filing of the appeal before this Court, A-8 died and, therefore, no appeal has been filed against his acquittal. For the sake of convenience, the accused/respondents herein will be referred to as accused.
(2.) When the matter is taken up for hearing, it is brought to the notice of this Court by the learned counsel appearing for the parties that pending this appeal, A-4 , who is the 3rd respondent herein died on 6.1.16 and the death certificate certifying her death has been filed.
(3.) The facts, shorn of unnecessary details, could be stated thus :- A-1 was a public servant on the date of registration of the case; A-2 is the wife of A-1; A-3 and A-4 are the father-in-law and mother-in-law of A-1; A-5 is the co-brother of A-1; A-6 is the son of A-5; A-7 is the brother-in-law of A-1 and son of A-3 and A-4; A-8 is a stamp vendor at Panruti; A-9 is the President of Coimbatore Stock Exchange and Director of DJS Stock & Shares and A-10 is the Joint Managing Director of Anugraha Jewellers Ltd., and the employer of the approver V.S.Sivan @ Sivalingam.