DHULAMANI BEHERA Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner's conviction under S. 409 IPC and sentence to undergo R.I.for one year and to pay a fine of Rs. 3,000/-, in default to undergo S.I. for three months having been upheld in appeal, he has preferred this revision.

(2.) The petitioner was an Assistant District Welfare Officer at Talcher and was prosecuted for having committed misappropriation during the period 6-6-78 to 22-12-78 of a sum of Rs. 10,803.88 out of an entrusted amount of Rs. 19,933.53 which he had received towards the boarding charges, staff salary of Ashram School and stipend of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes students. The petitioner though admitted to be the disbursing officer along with the S.D.O. and the D.W.O. in respect of boarding charges, salary of staff of the school and the stipend of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes students, yet maintained a plea of complete denial of any entrustment of money to him.

(3.) Mr. S. Misra I, learned counsel for the petitioners; assailing the conviction of the petitioner, has urged two contentions; firstly, that there was no valid sanction for the petitioner's prosecution, inasmuch as the sanction order was never proved; and secondly, there was no proof of any entrustment having been made to the petitioner of the sums alleged to be misappropriated by him. The submissions of Mr. Misra have been strenuously contested by the learned Addl. Standing Counsel submitting that the offence of the petitioner was such that no sanction was necessary to prosecute him and that even if such sanction was necessary, the sanction exhibited in the case was the proper and valid sanction legally proved. He has further urged that the entrustment of the amount to the petitioner has been fully established and that in the absence of the petitioner's showing that the amount had not been misapprpriated, it must be held that the charge under S. 409, IPC had been completely brought home against the petitioner.