ACHUTANANDA RANA Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This revision is directed against the order passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Keonjhar, upholding the order passed by the learned Subordinate Judge-cum-Judicial Magistrate First Class, Anandapur, convicting the petitioner under section 408, Indian Penal Code ('I.P.C.' for short) and sentencing him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year and to pay a fine of Rs. 2,000/-, in default to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three months more.

(2.) The prosecution case lies within short compass and is that the petitioner at the relevant time was serving as an Assistant Accountant in the Baula Mines Office of the Ferror Alloys Corporation (hereinafter referred to as the FACOR). His duty consisted of receiving and keeping cash and weekly submission of accounts of the receipt, expenditure and the cash in hand to the head office of the FACOR at Bhadrak. On 4.3.1978 he submitted the weekly accounts (Ext. 3) for the last time showing therein that the closing balance of cash in hand with him was Rs. 11.834.27. Thereafter, he did not attend the office nor made over charge of cash and accounts. P.W. 3 was the Agent and Superintendent of Mines of the FACOR posted at Bhadrak who had appointed the petitioner on the recommendation of a local businessman (P.W. 4). On receiving report that the petitioner was not attending office and had not made over charge of cash and accounts, P.W. 3 informed P.W. 4 in order to starch for the petitioner. Accordingly, P.W. 4 searched out the petitioner and brought him before P.W. 3. In the presence of both P.Ws. 3 and 4, the petitioner is said to have made an extra judicial confession to the effect that he had misappropriated a sum of Rs. 13,000/-belonging to the FACOR and wrote down in his own hand Ext. 5 on 16.3.1978 in evidence of the extra judicial confession. Although he had promised to refund the amount, he did not do so and so F.I.R. (Ext. 9) was lodged by P.W. 3 on 17.3.1978. In course of investigation it came to light that the petitioner had received a sum of Rs. 3,891/- from P.W. 9 and a further sum of Rs. 7,830/- from P.W.12 and had not accounted for the same. After close of investigation it became apparent that the petitioner had misappropriated a sum of Rs. 28,629.01 and accordingly charge-sheet was submitted against him for having committed an offence under section 408 I.P.C.

(3.) The petitioner had pleaded that he did not misappropriated the cash. He did not make any extra judicial confession of having misappropriated cash, but was coerced to write down Ext. 5 as if it was an extra judicial confession.