STATE BANK OF INDIA Vs. KADAVAKOLLU VENKATARATNAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The plaintiff in O.S. No. 33 of 1994 on the file of the Senior Civil Judge, Machilipatnam filed this appeal feeling aggrieved by the dismissal thereof. For the sake of convenience, the parties are referred to as arrayed in the suit.

(2.) The suit was filed for recovery of a sum of Rs. 19,10,393.30 ps. against defendants 1 to 4. While the 1st defendant is a former accountant of the plaintiff-bank, the 2nd defendant worked as Messenger and the 3rd defendant is the brother-in-law of the 1st defendant. The 4th defendant is Kaikaluru Branch of Andhra Bank. It was pleaded that on 24.06.1989, the plaintiff received a parcel of printed demand drafts, to be used in its transactions and the same are verified by the 1st defendant. He is said to have handed over the charge to another employee, while going on leave.

(3.) Over the period, as many as 71 demand drafts, said to have been issued by the plaintiff, for a sum of about Rs. 8,00,000/-, were presented by two individuals, by name Alluri Sitarama Raju and Alluri Ranga Raju before the 4th defendant and they, in turn, were sent for clearance to the plaintiff-bank. The demand drafts were said to have been encashed. In the reconciliation, undertaken on 01.06.1990, it was noticed that 71 demand drafts, referred to above, were not issued by the Branch of the plaintiff at all. A complaint was submitted to the Police and in the course of investigation, it was found that the 1st defendant acquired valuable items of property, such as gold and Indira Vikas Patras, his brother-in-law, the 3rd defendant introduced Alluri Ranga Raju while opening of account in the 4th defendant Branch and Ranga Raju, in turn, acted as an introducer for Alluri Seetarama Raju to open another account. Stating that both the account holders are fictitious persons and fraud was committed upon it, the plaintiff initiated proceedings on several fronts.