SUJATA SADANGI Vs. STATE OF ODISHA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present Revision has been filed questioning the correctness of the judgment dtd. 30/9/2013 passed by learned Addl. Sessions Judge, Nabarangpur in Criminal Appeal No.46/2013 whereby the judgment of conviction and sentence passed by learned J.M.F.C., Nabarangpur on 16/2/2012 was confirmed. By the said judgment, learned J.M.F.C. had convicted the Petitioner for the offence under Ss. 468/471/420/34 of I.P.C. and sentenced her to undergo R.I. for two years and to pay fine Rs.1,000.00, in default, to undergo further R.I. for one month on each count for the aforementioned offences with all the sentences to run concurrently.

(2.) The prosecution case, in brief, is that the District Inspector of Schools (for short the " D.I, of Schools "), Nabarangpur received a letter bearing No.825 dtd. 13/8/1995 issued by the Comptroller of Examinations, Board of Secondary Education, Odisha (for short 'BSE, Odisha ') intimating that the Petitioner and two other persons namely, Susil Kumar Mohanty and Shaik Ismail had failed in the C.T. Examination 1994, and, therefore, he was requested not to issue S.L.C. or mark sheet to the said candidates. Accordingly, the D.I. of Schools issued instructions to the Headmaster of Government Secondary Training School, Nabarangpur. The said Headmaster informed that he had received the C.T. pass certificates from the BSE, Odisha by registered post and had handed them over to the candidates after obtaining their signatures. The D.I. of Schools, therefore, requested the BSE, Odisha to confirm the genuineness of the pass certificates of the candidates pursuant to which, by a confidential letter No.50 dtd. 13/1/1999, the BSE, Odisha informed that all the three candidates had failed in the C.T. Examination held for the year 1994. It was thus apparent that the said candidates had managed to secure employment by producing fake C.T. Pass certificates and also received other service benefits. Thereafter, on the instructions received from the Director of Elementary Education, Odisha, the D.I. of Schools, Nabarangpur lodged F.I.R. before Nabarangpur Police Station leading to registration of Nabarangpur P.S. Case No.68/1999 under Ss. 468/471/420/34 of I.P.C.

(3.) In course of trial, the prosecution examined eleven witnesses and proved the documents marked Exhibits 1 to 20. No evidence was adduced from the side of defence. The trial court considered the evidence on record to hold that the accused persons had failed in the C.T. Examination held during the year 1994, but using such certificates showing them to have passed the said examination, they had secured employment. It was also held that the accused persons had collaborated with some unseen elements under mysterious circumstances and have managed to dispatch the fake certificates which were supplied to them by the Headmaster and, therefore, according to the trial court, their intention and purpose being to secure employment, they must be held to have committed the charged offences. Accordingly, the accused persons were convicted and sentenced as aforesaid.