B MADAPPAN Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Batch of appeals arising from the judgements of the trial court in Special C.C.No. 4 to 12 of 2001 on the file of District and Sessions/Special Court, Udhagamandalam, Nilgiris District traces its root to a common complaint.

(2.) In Special C.C.No.10/2001, the accused persons Thiru.B.Mathappan (A-1) and Thiru. R.Kittan (A-2) who are now appellants before this court are public servants employed in Education Department as Assistant Elementary Education Officer (AEEO) and Junior Assistant respectively at Kothagiri Additional Elementary Educational Office. The charges against them are criminal breach of trust, misappropriation, forgery, and use of forged document as genuine, falsification of accounts, creation of false documents and abuse of official position for illegal pecuniary advantage.

(3.) The criminal law has been set into motion based on the complaint lodged by Thiru.R.Narayanasamy, Director of Elementary Education on 17.09.1997 detailing out several instances of falsification of accounts, financial irregularities including misappropriation and forgery. Though the complaint named only B. Mathappan (AEEO) and Thathan (AEEO) as suspects of crime, in the course of the investigation apart from these two named accused, few others working in the Kothagiri Assistant Elementary Education Office were also found involved in the crime, resulting in 9 separate final reports against the persons involved in respective act of forgery, misappropriation, creation of false documents and falsification of accounts.