INDU BHUSAN CHATTERJEE Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal from an order of Sri J.C. Lodh, Judge, First Special Court at Alipore, convicting the appellant Indu Bhusan Chatterjee under Section 161, Penal Code, and sentencing him to suffer rigorous imprisonment for three months and to pay a fine of Rs. 500/- in default to suffer rigorous imprisonment for one month more. The Judge also convicted the appellant under Section 5(2) read with Section 5 (1)(d) of Act 2 of 1947 but passed no separate sentence thereunder.

(2.) The prosecution case was briefly as follows: One V. G. Doraiswami, a retired railway employee, set up a firm at Vizianagram known as Commercial Claims Bureau for dealing with claim cases of the public against the then B.N. Railway now amalgamated with the Eastern Railway. He had several cases pending from 1949 and as there was delay in final settlement, he came down to Calcutta Head-quarters of the B.N. Railway in. October 1951 and met H. Chatterjee, Assistant Commercial Superintendent of the B.N. Railway in connection with claims that he was dealing with and on that occasion he was introduced to the appellant Indu Bhusan Chatterjee who was then acting as Assistant Supervisor of claim cases of B.N. Railway, Vizianagram section. The appellant then had power to deal finally with claims upto Rs. 75/- and he had to report on other claims to his superior Officer, the Assistant Commercial Superintendent. In October 1951, Doraiswami met the appellant at Calcutta and according to Doraiswami the appellant then asked for some gratification for speedy and favourable disposal of the cases and Dorai swami then paid the appellant a sum of Rs. 10/-, and also dictated the numbers and other details of the claim cases that he was dealing with. Doraiswami again came to Calcutta in January 1952 and again met the accused in his office and then at the Coffee House in' front of the Hindus than Buildings on the Central Avenue, after some discussion, Doraiswami paid another sum of Rs. 15/- to the appellant for expeditious disposal of the claim cases pending with the appellant Indu Bhusan Chatterjee and belonging to Vizianagram section. Doraiswami then left for Vizianagram and from there he carried on some correspondence with the appellant. In the meantime on receipt of secret information the Deputy Superintendent of Police, of Special Police Establishment at Puri, directed Inspector G.N. Brahma of the Special Police Establishment then attached to Puri to go to Vizianagram and contact Doraiswami in connection with the alleged report of dishonesty by Railway Officials. Brahma accordingly went to Vizianagram and on 29-4-1952 he met Doraiswami and had a discussion with him and Doraiswami filed a complaint with some letters purporting to have been written by the appellant. Brahma asked Doraiswami to meet him in Calcutta on 10-5-1953 where he would contact other Officers of the Special police Establishment of the Calcutta section and take further steps. At Calcutta, Inspector Brahma met the Superintendent of the Special Police Establishment Calcutta section and other Officers, and Inspectors K.C. Mukherjee, and N.K. Mukherjee were deputed to take up the investigation. These Inspectors obtained the permission of the Chief Presidency Magistrate, Calcutta, for taking congisance of the case and investigating the case, such special permission being required under the proviso to Section 3 of Act 2 of 1947. Doraiswami met the appellant in Calcutta and it was settled between them that Rs. .100/- would be paid by Doraiswami to the appellant at about 6 P.M. on 12-5-1953 at the Indian Coffee House where the parties were to meet. Doraiswami informed the Police Officers about this arrangement, and the Police Officers noted the numbers of the ten-rupee notes in which payment was to be made to the appellant by Doraiswami. It was also arranged that alter the payment had been made, Doraiswami would make a signal by placing his hand behind his head. Accordingly, from before 6 P.M. on 12-5-1952, the Police Officers lay in wait at the entrance to the Coffee House Building, while Doraiswami was Standing near the gate of that building. Shortly before 6 P.M. the appellant arrived there and Doraiswami met him and they both went inside and sat at a table where coffee was ordered by Doraiswami Sri G.N. Gnash, Assistant Director of Postal Services, and some Police Officers also followed Doraiswami and the appellant into the Coffee House and took: their seats at tables 'adjoining the table at which Doraiswami and the appellant sat. At the table there was talk between Doraiswami and the appellant over expediting the claim cases and Doraiswami gave a list of claim cases which he was dealing with and the appellant put the list in his own pocket. Doraiswami then handed over the bundle of ten-rupee notes which the appellant took and put In the left upper-pocket of his shirt. Thereafter the accused and the appellant- both stood up and Doraiswami gave the pre-arranged signal by placing his hand behind his head. Thereupon Inspectors N.K. Mukherjee and S.B. Mitra rushed into the Coffee House, and other members of the party, e.g., Sri G.N. Ghosh and Brahma who were at neighbouring tables also went up to the table at which Doraiswami and the appellant were seated. The Police Officers disclosed their identity and challenged the appellant saying that he had received the ten ten-rupee notes as bribe and asked him to bring out the amount. The appellant remained silent for a time and then brought out the ten-rupee notes together with the list of pending claim cases which had been handed over to him by Doraiswami. The numbers of the notes were checked and it was found that the numbers were the same as had been noted before by Sri G.N. Ghosh and the Police Officers. Thereupon a seizure list was prepared and the appellant was taken to his house. His house was searched but nothing objectionable was found at the dwelling house of the appellant. Sri N.K. Mukherjee took up the investigation and completed the same and a case was started. The case was allotted to the file of Sri J.C. Lodh by a Government notification. Thereupon a charge-sheet was filed before this Court oa 28-6-1953. The appellant was then summoned and placed on his trial.

(3.) The appellant pleaded not guilty. He stated when questioned under Section 342, Criminal P.C., that he took his seat at a table in the Coffee House and within a minute Doraiswami came and sat at the same table. After paying for the coffee, as the appellant was moving for going home Inspector N.K. Mukherjee intervened and wanted him to produce his purse. He produced Rs. 43 which he had in the purse from the breast pocket of his shirt and which he had received as refund of the special provident fund contribution which had been discontinued. He stated that he had not received Rs. 100/-as alleged from Doraiswami nor cud he received the list Ext. 4/1 oi claim cases with which Doraiswami was dealing, that alter he had produced Rs. 437- from the breast pocket of his shirt, Inspector N.K. Mutherjee put his hand quickly into the appellant's breast pocket, brought out his hand again and then disclosed the ten ten-rupee notes and the list Ext. 471 in his hand. In other words, according to the appellant the ten ten-rupee notes and the list were planted by Sri N.K. Mukherjee and had never been received by the appellant from Doraiswami at the Coffee House or elsewhere. The defence therefore was that the police in conspiracy with Doraiswami had falsely implicated the appellant.