SRIDHAR JENA Vs. THE STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Appellant was prosecuted on charges under Sections 420 and 467, Indian Penal Code in the Court of the Assistant Sessions Judge, Keonjhar and was convicted only under Section 467, Indian Penal Code and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for four years and four months and to pay a fine of Rs. 500/ -, and in default, to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a further period of 13 months. The charge against him is that on or about the 23rd of November, 1962, he forged a certain document, namely, a contingent bill amounting to Rs. 427.52 ps. with the intent to cause the Sub -Treasury Officer to part with this amount and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 467, Indian Penal Code.

(2.) THE Appellant was at the material period a clerk attached to the Anandapur hospital which is under the administrative jurisdiction of the Civil Surgeon at Keonjhar. Under orders of the Civil Surgeon, the Bengal Chemical and Pharmaceutical Works, Ltd., Calcutta supplied medicines worth Rs. 427.52ps. to the Medical Officer, Anandapur as per Invoice No. 4153 dated 16 -3 -1961. The Company thereafter sent the bill to the Medical Officer, Anandaapur who after making necessary verification of the medicines supplied forwarded the same to the office of the Civil Surgeon for payment. On receipt of the bill, a Bank draft for the same amount was sent to the Firm on 5 -4 -1961. Thus nothing further was due to the Firm on account of the medicines supplied to the Anandapur hospital Admittedly, however, a contingent bill for Rs. 427.52ps. purporting to have been prepared in the office of the Civil Surgeon, Keonjhar and to have been signed by him in clearance of the bill for the said amount previously presented by the Bengal Chemical and Pharmaceutical Works, Ltd. was presented and encashed at Anandapur Sub -Treasury on 23.11.1962. The bill bore on the face of it an endorsement to the effect that the amount of the bill should be paid to p.w. 5, the peon attached to the Anandapur hospital and admittedly p.w. 5, presented the bill in the Sub -Treasury and received the payment. It is the prosecution case that this contingent bill Ext. 2 was prepared by the Appellant, that he had forged the signature of Sri R.N. Mallik, the Civil Surgeon thereon, that the endorsement authorising p.w. 5 to receive the amount of the bill purporting to be under the signature of the Civil Surgeon was also forged by the Appellant, that it is the latter who handed over the bill to p.w. 5 for encashment, and that p.w. 5 after receiving the amount from the Sub -Treasury handed over the amount to the Appellant. All these allegations are denied by the Appellant, his case being that this bill ext. 2 was received from the Civil Surgeon 's Office, Keonjhar and was presented in the Sub -Treasury by p.w. 5 who had been authorised by the endorsement appearing on the bill to receive payment and that p.w. 5 made over the amount to the Medical Officer, Anandapur p.w. 4 and the receipt of the amount was duly accounted for in the Cash Book of the hospital -vide endorsement in Ext. 20 series. It was, however, discovered that this amount of Rs. 427.52 ps. was overdrawn and thereafter the Medical Officer, Anandapur entered into correspondence with the Civil Surgeon and under the latter 's instruction the amount of Rs. 427.52ps. was credited in the Sub -Treasury on 22.12.1962.

(3.) IT is against this background that the evidence against the Appellant has to be considered. During investigation, the disputed bill was sent to the hand -writing expert p.w. 13 for his opinion along with certain admitted writings of the Appellant and the admitted signatures of the Civil Surgeon. p.w. 13 has deposed in Court that in his opinion, the contents of the bill are in the hand -writing of the Appellant and that the signatures on the bill purporting to be those of the Civil Surgeon are not genuine. Relying on the evidence of the hand -writing expert and of p.ws. 5 and 9, the learned Judge has found the Appellant guilty.