ALOK KUMAR DAS Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Only question involved in this litigation is whether an offence said to have been committed under Section 409 of the Indian Penal Code could be tried by the Special Judge although the accused was not a government employee.

(2.) The Petitioners were engaged by UCO bank for collection of deposits from the village investors as agents. The bank lodged a complaint that they committed grave illegality by misappropriation of the deposits by not depositing the sums to the till of the bank. The Petitioner earlier moved this Court on two occasions on the identical issue. In each of the situations the learned Judges of this Court observed that the Petitioners should be at liberty to raise such point at the time of trial. The Petitioners thereafter approached the learned Special Judge with the identical plea and prayed for their discharge under Section 239 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The learned Special Judge rejected the contentions by holding that it was a case of criminal misappropriation and the amount involved was "definitely government money".

(3.) Being aggrieved, the Petitioners approached this Court challenging the order of the learned Special Judge. I heard the parties on the said application on the above mentioned dates.