ARVIND SINGH Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition under Sec. 482 of Code Criminal Procedure has been filed for quashment of the order passed on 7.7.2006 by Chief Judicial Magistrate, Dhar in Criminal Case No. 1352/1998 and the order passed by Additional Sessions Judge, Dhar in Criminal Revision No. 121/2006 dated 28.8.2006, whereby charges for the offences punishable under Sections 409 and 471 of Indian Penal Code were framed by the Trial Court against present petitioner and that order was confirmed by the Revisional Court.

(2.) The short facts of the case are that the petitioner was appointed as transport agent by M.P. State Co-operative Oilseed Growers' Federation Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "the Corporation" for brevity) for transporting goods from place to place. District Manager of the Corporation filed an FIR at Police Station Dhar on 22.3.1997 stating therein that by Voucher No. 385 dated 31.3.1995, an amount of Rs. 32,429.60 was wrongly paid to the present petitioner by District Manager, Shiv Prakash Sharma and accountant Ramesh s/o Mangesh and no bill of that amount was ever produced by the present petitioner in the Corporation and no work in respect of that amount was performed by him. It has also been stated in the FIR itself that when the office of Corporation demanded repayment of that amount from the present petition, then he deposited that amount in the office of the Corporation on 21.9.1996 vide cheque No. 927699. It has further been stated in the FIR that a wrong payment has been made by the District Officer to the present petitioner by making wrong entries in the account book. On the basis of this FIR, offence was registered and was investigated. After due investigation charge-sheet was filed against the two employees of the Corporation as well as against present petitioner. Present petitioner challenged the order of framing charge unsuccessfully before the Court of Session and then has come up before this Court for quashment of the same by way of this petition.

(3.) Learned Counsel for the petitioner Mr. Chhabara, submitted that if the facts as stated in the FIR filed by the District Manager of the Corporation are believed in toto at their face value, even then no offence is made out, even prima facie, against present petitioner, who was simply a transport agent and was wrongly paid some amount, which was redeposited by him immediately after getting information regarding the same.