STATE OF PUNJAB Vs. AMARJIT SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) DEPOT Manager, Pepsu Road Transport Corporation, Kapurthala wrote to S.H.O. City Kotwali, Kapurthala with his memo No. 140 -, dated June 21, 1982 : Shri Amarjit Sigh, Conductor No. K234 s/o Sh. Bishan Dass, resident of village Mand. P. C. Ashli Chak Tehsil Dasuya, District Hoshiarpur was working as a conductor in P.R.T.C. the aforesaid conductor No. K-234 has absented himself from his duty w.e.f 29.4.82 with a sum of Rs. 3254.55 of P.R. T.C. Kapurthala It is requested to you that a case (FIR) may be registered against the aforesaid conductor No. K-234. I shall be highly thankful to you "

(2.) ON being charged with the commission of the offence under Section 409 of the Indian Penal Code for criminal breach of trust in respect of entrusted bus tickets and collected cash amount of Rs. 3254.55, the accused pleaded 'not guilty' thereto and claimed to be tried. Vide its impugned judgment dated August 25, 1986, the learned trial court acquitted the accused holding that as against cash amount of Rs. 3254.55 the prosecution had proved through Ram Singh, PW4 shortage in cash amounting to Rs. 1573.10 upto August 17, 1982 against the accused. A further amount of Rs. 18.25 was also found due from accused in respect of tickets for Chandigarh area. As against this total of Rs. 1591.35, the accused had deposited with the Corporation a sum of Rs. 2804/- on the same day viz. August 17, 1982 and that failure of the accused to return the bus tickets not used did not amount to criminal breach of trust unless it is proved that the accused sold them or disposed them of dishonestly Feeling aggrieved there from the State of Punjab has filed Crl. Appeal No. 273 DBA of 1987 in this Court.

(3.) AFTER accepting the deposit of Rs. 2804/- from the respondent on August 17, 1982, it does not lie in the mouth of Pepsu Road Transport Corporation to urge that the charge of criminal breach of trust against the accused in respect of allegedly misappropriated amount still subsists. Regarding failure of the accused to return the unsold tickets it has been held by the Supreme Court in Sardar Singh vs. State of Haryana, AIR 1977 Supreme Court 1766 that merely failure or omission to return property does not constitute an offence under Section 409 of the Indian Penal Code, Relevant observations read, what the section requires is something much more than mere failure or omission to return the receipt book, The prosecution has to go further and show that the appellant dishonestly misappropriated or converted the receipt book to his own use or dishonestly used or, disposed of it. That, we are afraid, the prosecution has not been able to do in the present case. We are, therefore, of the view that the appellant was wrongly convicted under Section 409. Finding of not guilty returned by the learned trial court is therefore affirmed.