PURNA CHANDRA SOREN Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The criminal appeal is directed against judgment and order of conviction dated 24-08-2011 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, 1st Court (Special Court), Paschim Medinipur in Special Trial No. 12 of 2004. By the judgment impugned, the learned trial court convicted the appellant and sentenced him to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 10 (ten) years and to pay fine of Rs. 5000/-(Rupees five thousand only), in default, to suffer rigorous imprisonment for another two years.

(2.) One Ashim Chakraborty, branch manager of Indian Bank, Kharagpur branch at the relevant time and defacto complainant of the case, lodged complaint before Kharagpur police station to the effect that the accused- appellant Purna Chandra Soren joined Kharagpur branch of the bank on 08-06-2000 as Assistant Manager on account of his transfer from Indian Bank, Allahabad branch and accordingly, his N.S.C. II loan account was also transferred to his new place of posting along with documents pertaining to the said loan. The accused was entrusted with the charge of the loan section of the bank and dealt with loans with regard to other staff of the bank, members of public as well as his own loan account. The defacto complainant alleged that accused Purna Chandra Soren availed of additional loan on 19 occasions amounting to rupees 3,12,882/- without pledging the necessary N.S.Cs to secure the said loan and without obtaining any sanction therefor from the competent authority, in violation of the rules of the bank, thereby defalcating the entire fund. The accused availed of other loans of considerable amount similarly and made fictitious entries so that his loan account appeared to be closed, in order to escape scrutiny during regular inspection of the bank. Further, the accused disbursed additional loan on nine occasions to Akshoy Mukherjee without sanction of the competent authority, thereby causing huge financial loss to the bank. The accused admitted his acts in his letter dated 21-04-2004 and undertook to make good the loss incurred by the bank, thereby admitting his guilt.

(3.) On receipt of the complaint, KGP(T) police station case no. 273 of 2004 dated 25-10-2004 under Section 409/468/420 of the Indian Penal Code (in short the IPC) was started. After completion of the investigation, charge sheet was submitted against the accused-appellant under Section 409/468/420 of the IPC. The case was committed to the court of the Ld. Sessions Judge and subsequently transferred to the Ld. Additional Sessions Judge, 1st Court (Special Court), Paschim Medinipur for trial. Charge was framed against the accused- appellant under Section 409 of the IPC. Substance of accusation was read over and explained to the accused to which he pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried. Accordingly, the prosecution examined three witnesses in support of its case and the defense case, as it appears from the trend of cross examination as well as statement of the accused under Section 313 of the Cr.P.C, is a denial of the prosecution case and a plea of innocence.