K C KAPOOR Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These are two appeals, one by K. C. Kapoor and the other by Nanak Saran. The police charge-sheeted both of them and both were committed to the Court of the Sessions Judge of Mirzapur for trial; but, on an application made by Nanak Saran, the learned Sessions Judge split the case and tried the appellants separately. He sentenced each of the two appellants to three years rigorous imprisonment and to a line of Rs. 1,000/-. or six months further rigorous imprisonment in default of payment of fine, under Section 409, I. P. C. Both the appeals may properly be disposed of by a single judgment.

(2.) In August, 1954, when the occurrence leading up to the trials took place, K. C. Kapoor was employed as Divisional Accountant and Nanak Saran as Establishment Clerk in the Accounts Section under Sri Rajendra Prasad Agarwal Executive Engineer, Sirsi Dam at Mirzapur. A sum of Rs. 9,150/-was realised by the Executive Engineer on 23-8-1954 by the sale of trees in the Sirisi reservoir forest. It is said that there was no time to deposit the amount into the treasury on that date. The said amount, along with a cash balance of about Rs. 600/- was therefore put by the Executive Engineer in a box, and the box along with the bunch or keys containing the key of the box was handed over by the Executive Engineer to the appellant K. C. Kapoor, so that the latter might keep the box in the iron safe in his office, 200 or 250 paces away, until the money could be deposited in the treasury the following day. K. C. Kapoor took the box to his office, the box having been actually carried by the peon Izhar Ahmad. The iron safe in K. C. Kapoor's office had, what has been described as the double lock system; one key of the safe was with K. C. Kapoor and the other with Dafadar Gokul Prasad and the safe could not be opened or closed without the use of both the keys. At the instance of K. C. Kapoor, Gokul Prasad tried to put the box into the iron safe but was unable to do so as the box was too big for that. Another box, in which money used to be kept in the iron safe and which had gone for repair, was thereupon sent for through Gokul Prasad and the money in question was transferred into it from the bigger box. According to the prosecution, the other appellant Nanak Saran was present there all the time.

(3.) At this stage the prosecution alleges certain conduct to the two appellants implying a conspiracy on their part. It is said that Nanak Saran asked Gokul Prasad to go at once and see if the Executive Engineer was present in his office. Gokul Prasad replied that he would put the cash box into the iron safe first. K. C. Kapoor thereupon said to Gokul Prasad that he must go not only to bring the aforesaid information but also to return to the Executive Engineer the bigger box whose contents had been transferred into the smaller one, assuring Gokul Prasad at the same time that he (K. C. Kapoor) will continue to sit there until his return. Gokul Prasad was thus prevailed upon by the appellants to leave the place with the empty box which he later handed over to Izhar Ahmad peon at the Executive Engineer's bungalow. The appellant K. C. Kapoor says that as he had to see the Executive Engineer he went to the latter's bungalow with the keys of the empty box which had already been sent with Gokul Prasad, but as he was in haste he left his bunch of keys on the table. When he returned to his office he was told by Nanak Saran that he had kept the box into the iron safe, and Nanak Saran asked him to double-lock the safe. Gokul Prasad says that after delivering the empty box at the Executive Engineer's bungalow he went to his quarters to take medicine, and that when he returned to the office after about 20 minutes he found both the appellants present there but the box into which money had been transferred was not there. When he asked K. C. Kapoor as to where the box containing the money was, Nanak Saran replied that the box had been put inside the iron safe. Gokul Prasad then asked K. C. Kapoor to let him open the safe and have a look into the box to see that the money was there. Thereupon Nanak Saran again told Gokul Prasad that the box had been put inside the iron safe and asked Gokul Prasad to lock the safe with his key. Gokul Prasad however asked for the other key of the iron safe from K. C. Kapoor in order to satisfy himself that the box was inside the safe, but this enraged Nanak Saran and the latter said to Gokul Prasad that he should trust the Accountant meaning K. C. Kapoor, and make no fuss about it. K. C. Kapoor also asked Gokul Prasad not to make any fuss and assured him that he himself had put the box inside the iron safe. K. C. Kapoor also asked Gokul Prasad to lock the iron safe with his key, assuring him at the same time that everything was all right.