STATE OF MAHARASHTRA Vs. CHANDRAPRAKASH KESHAVDEO SHINGHANIYA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE State of Maharashtra, as a matter of propriety, has filed the present appeal which is directed against an order dated 31-5-1983, passed by Shri N. L. Telge, Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Nasik Road in Criminal Case No. 932 of 1977.

(2.) THE five respondents, who are before the Court, stood charged with an offence punishable u/s. 420 read with S. 34 of the Indian Penal Code, in so far as it was alleged that in furtherance of their common intention, that they had cheated the Maharashtra State Electricity Board by obtaining a sum of Rs. 1. 68 lacs being the 90% price of 4200 kgs. of Hydrazine Hydrate supplied by the accused Nos. 1 to 4 on 9-6-1976 and 11-6-1976. The accused Nos. I to 4 were the partners of M/s. Anil Dye-Chem Corporation, Bombay and had tendered for the supply of the chemical to the power station but there was a stipulation that the chemical was to be of 80% concentration of Hydrazine Hydrate. This chemical was an essential one for purposes of preserving the boilers and the tubes and consequently, it was crucial that the chemical of the requisite strength had to be used in the plant. It was found out pursuant to a complaint and samples being drawn by the Security Officer, M. S. E. B. , from the 21 drums of the chemical that has been supplied by accused Nos. 1 to 4, that the chemical in question was only of a strength of 207 which was wholly inadequate for the purpose. The accused No. 5 who was the Chief Chemist of the Board stationed at Eklahara had issued a certificate which is at Exhibit 64 of the paper book in respect of the two consignments and in so far as it was found that the chemical was heavily diluted and not up to the specification, the issuance of the certificate by him was treated as an offence punishable u/s. 197 of the Indian Penal Code. The learned trial Magistrate has adopted a very curious reasoning while appreciating the evidence on record. The learned Magistrate has, in the first instance, taken up the contention that under the terms of the contract, the M. S. E. B. could have recovered damages from the accused if the chemical was not up to specifications and secondly, that it was open to the Board to demand replacement if the goods were defective and since neither of the two courses of action was adopted, that the accused cannot be charged with having committed the offence. Furthermore, the learned trial Magistrate has relied on one circumstance viz. , that according to him, there were no distinctive identification marks on the drums from which the samples had been drawn and that consequently, it cannot be said that the prosecution had established the identity of those drums as being the one supplied by the accused. In this view of the matter, the learned Magistrate has acquitted all the accused, holding that no offence has been established against them.

(3.) MR. Chopda, learned A. P. P. has taken me through the oral and voluminous documentary evidence on record. I have scrutinised carefully the evidence of P W. 1 Patil who was the Security Officer at the relevant time. He has very clearly deposed about the fact that he was called to Bombay and informed by the Vigilance Department that the M. S. E. B. has received secret information to the effect that the accused Nos. 1 to 4 were supplying water instead of chemical in the drums against delivery of the consignment. Mr. Patil immediately returned to Nasik and in the presence of two panchas, went to the Chief Officer in charge of the stores. The Chief officer Deshmukh immediately showed Patil all the 21 drums which were still in an intact condition. It has come on record from the evidence of Patil and through the panchnama that these drums were in the same condition in which they had been received from the firm of the accused and furthermore, that they were intact. Patil thereupon opened four out of the 21 drums on a random basis and took out 8 samples, two from each drum which samples were in turn duly sealed in the presence of the panchas. One set of samples was thereafter sent to the Vigilance Department of the M. S. E. B. and the second set was sent to the V. J. T. I. for analysis. The analysis report showed that the percentage in all the four was 20. 5, 20. 5, 20. 0 and 20. 0. I would like to dispose of the evidence of P. W. 2 Mohan Kogelgo, who has very clearly deposed to the fact that the samples in question had reached him in an intact condition, that he had carried out the analysis properly and that he had forwarded his reports. In his cross-examination, a few questions were put to him with regard to the method of analysis adopted but the defence has not been able to show that the analysis was either incorrect or unsound. It is necessary for me to note that the defence has virtually accepted the correctness of the analysis because, otherwise, it was open to them to have asked for the remaining samples as is often done in food adulteration cases and to have had the same analysed. It is quite clear from the evidence on record that there was little doubt about the fact that the strength of the chemical had been heavily watered down which gives this case a complexion of utmost seriousness. It has become the order of the day while dealing with public sector contracts and with public authorities that any form of substandard material is supplied with the hope of defrauding the public exchequer. Valuable equipment of the M. S. E. B. would have been seriously damaged had this chemical been used and it is quite clear that the entire fraud was perpetrated by the traders with the sole object of making easy money.