(1.) The appellants herein while discharging their duty as Agricultural Officer and Demonstration Assistant respectively in the Agricultural Department of Puducherry Union Territory Government were entrusted to identify farmers near Karaikal affected in the heavy rain and flood during October-November 2004 and to pay compensation. The appellants with common intention to cause wrongful loss to the Government and to dishonestly misappropriate the Government fund, fabricated documents such as claim applications in the name of fictitious persons or forged the applications in the name of existing persons without their knowledge and misappropriated a sum of Rs. 97,750.00. When the local public raised objections and complaint about the misappropriation committed by appellants, an enquiry was conducted by Mr. Jayasankar (P.W.6)-the Additional Director, Agricultural Department and he submitted his report to the department on 13.07.2005. Based on the preliminary report of P.W.6, the Additional Director of Agricultural Department, lodged a detailed complaint dated 10.03.2007 and the same was forwarded to the Central Bureau of Investigation which is marked as Ex.P.1, during the trial.
(2.) As per the complaint dated 10.03.2007 given by Mr. Thyagarajan-P.W.1, the Joint Director of Agricultural Department. The Government, vide its G.O.Rt No. 138/Agri dated 10.03.2005 sanctioned 1.68 crores of rupees for payment of compensation to the farmers whose agricultural crops were damaged by heavy rain in October-November 2004. Mr. D. Karunakaran (first Appellant) Agricultural Officer and Mr.T.Francis (second appellant) Demonstration Assistant, in charge, Keezhamanai Revenue District, jointly colluded and manipulated the original applications submitted by the affected farmers and made excessive claim over and above the entitlement and also made fake claims in the name of fictitious names or in the name of person who never applied thereby they jointly misappropriated a tune of Rs. 97,750.00. The complaint-Ex.P.1 also enlisted 13 claimants, out of which, 5 were fictitious persons, four of them never applied and four applications were manipulated by the appellants so as to withdraw more money than the entitlement.
(3.) The respondent Police has registered the case and after completion of investigation, has filed final report. The Lieutenant Governor who is the person competent to grant sanction to prosecute the appellants has given sanction and the same is marked as Ex.P.2 through P.W.2 Mr. Manickasamy.