MANEKLAL LALCHAND SHAH Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The original accused No. 1 has filed this appeal against his conviction and sentence for the offences under sections 120-B read with sections 419, 471 read with sections 465, 420, 411 read with sections 34, 411, 420 read with sections 511 and 471 read with section 465 of the Indian Penal Code. Along with the present appellant, four more persons were charged for the various offences and they have also been convicted for the different offences by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Greater Bombay. The original accused Nos. 2 to 5 do not appear to have challenged their convictions and in any case their appeals are not before us.

(2.) As many as 82 charges were framed against the several accused persons but so far as accused No. 1 is concerned the charges against him were 1 and 5. He has been acquitted of the charge No. 5 and has been convicted only for the offences mentioned in charge No. 1. The charge against accused No. 1 was that he along with other persons between January 1970 and May 1970 at Greater Bombay agreed to do or caused to be done several illegal acts mentioned in the said charge. Some of them are dishonestly receiving or retaining stolen postal articles knowing or having reason to believe the same to be stolen, cheating the various banks by personation, opening the accounts in fictitious names, forging and using the forged documents as genuine, cheating various banks and/or attempting to cheat the banks by withdrawing the amounts on the forged documents or valuable securities and that the same acts were done in pursuance of the said agreement between different persons.

(3.) The modus operandi of committing these acts as alleged by the prosecution, may be stated thus: