N SWAMINATHA IYER Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These are petitions by the accused in what is known as the Hanuman Bank Conspiracy case to quash no less than 67 charges framed against them by the Special Magistrate, Tanjore, on grounds of misloinder some, of the accused also contending that there were no prima facie grounds to justify any charge against them.

(2.) The actual trial of this case commenced in November 1948, two years and nine months ago, in the course of which over 6000 exhibits were filed and 203 witnesses examined.

(3.) A few facts about the Bank and the personnel of the accused may be set out before we come to the most regrettable history of the trial of this case. The Hanuman Bank was incorporated in Tanjore in 1933 in a small way with an authorised capital of only Rs. 20,000 which was increased to Rs. 5 lakhs in 1943 and to Rs. 7 lakhs in 1946 as shown in the balance sheets. At the time the Bank crashed in 1947 it had 20 branches, 16 in Tanjore district and one each at Madras, Chidambaram, Tiruchira-palli and Madurai. .