MAOSI NAINSI JAIN Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The applicants, who are original accused Nos. 1 to 6, 12 and 14, along with other accused were charge-sheeted under Ss.420, 467, 468, 471 and 120 of the Penal Code. It is alleged that under the Employment Guarantee Scheme the officers used to issue coupons for purchase of foodgrains to the labourers working under the scheme and the said labourers were required to give those coupons to fair price shop and the fair price shop used to issue foodgrains at concessional price. The fair price shop-keepers were to tender those coupons to the Treasury and the Treasury Officer in turn used to pay the amounts of the said coupons to the fair price shop-keepers. It is further alleged by the prosecution that the applicants and other accused, who are mostly fair price shop- keepers, conspired together including one Ajaykumar, who is accused No. 13 and prepared faked coupons which were tendered to the Government Treasury and the amounts were collected on such coupons and thereby they have cheated the State Government. Upon acquiring knowledge about the said cheating an investigating agency took cognizance of the offence and investigated the same, with the result that the applicants along with other accused were charge-sheeted for the offences mentioned above.

(2.) The criminal case was fixed for evidence, but on 3-2-1982 an application came to be filed on behalf of the State alleging therein that accused No. 13 Ajaykumar is a person directly connected with the above referred offences and as such his evidence was necessary for adjudication of the matter and, therefore, the Chief Judicial Magistrate should grant pardon to Ajaykumar as provided under S.306 of the Criminal P.C. and the prosecution be permitted to examine him as a witness.

(3.) The application came to be resisted on behalf of the applicants and other accused persons. The Chief Judicial Magistrate by his order dt. 30-3-1982 rejected the application. Not satisfied with the order the State of Maharashtra preferred a revision application being Revision Application No. 34 of 1984 before the Additional Sessions Judge, Yavatmal who by his order dt 16-8-1984 while exercising revisional jurisdiction reversed the order passed by the trial Magistrate and granted pardon to accused No. 13 Ajaykumar and remanded the matter back to the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate for taking further steps. It is this order of the Additional Sessions Judge, Yavatmal, which is impugned in this revision.