PARKASH CHAND Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Accused-appellant Parkash Chand has directed the present appeal against the judgment dated 29.8.2008 and order dated 30.8.2008 passed by Sh. Jagbir Singh Dahiya, Special Judge, Fatehabad vide which accused-appellant was convicted under Sections 13(1)(c) and (d) punishable under Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (in short 'the Act') and was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of three years and to pay a fine of Rs.5000/- and in default of payment of fine to further undergo simple imprisonment for a period of three months.

(2.) Brief facts of the prosecution case are that the Director State Vigilance Bureau, Haryana wrote letter No.3753 dated 22.3.2005 to the Superintendent of Police, State Vigilance Bureau Haryana, Hisar stating that a criminal case under Sections 406, 409 and 420 IPC be got registered against the appellant Hawaldar on the basis of inquiry report No.2 dated 4.3.2004 conducted against the appellant and K.K.Sambarwal, District Commandant, Home Guards, Hisar on the allegations that appellant indulged in deducting a sum of Rs.400/- from the salary of Home Guard Volunteers at the time of payment of their salaries and he also indulged in taking a sum of Rs.3000/- from the Home Guard employees for the purpose of their fresh recruitment at the instance of K.K.Sambarwal. Accusedappellant had also withdrawn the salary of complainant Mange Ram pertaining to the period from 4.4.2002 to 23.5.2002 by way of forging his signatures and he himself misappropriated the said amount. Amar Singh, Inspector State Vigilance Bureau, Hisar Division, Hisar conducted the inquiry and submitted the report No.2 dated 4.3.2004 stating therein that the accused had taken a sum in between Rs.500/- to Rs.1000/- from Harjiwan Singh, Bhagwan Dass, Sukhdev Singh and Ramesh Kumar all Home Guard volunteers for the purpose of deputing them on duty by way saying them that the amount which is being charged from them is Govt. fee. Accused used to deduct Rs.400/- per head from the salary of Home Guard Volunteer at the time of disbursing their salaries and the said amount was being kept by him but the accused used to obtain the signatures of the volunteers regarding the receipt of full pay. Whenever any Home Guard volunteer refused to pay the said amount to the accused he used to threaten them that he would not put them on duty in future. Mange Ram complainant and no other Home Guard volunteers levelled any allegation regarding cheating and the receipt of bribe money by K.K.Sambrawal, District Commandant, Home Guards, Sirsa and Fatehabad. Accused in this manner cheated the complainant and other volunteers by way of misappropriating their amount after obtaining their signatures on full pay and indulged in corruption and therefore the case was registered against the accused. After completion of necessary investigation, challan against the accused was presented .

(3.) Copies of documents as relied upon by the prosecution were supplied to the accused under Section 207 Cr.P.C.