TARA DUTT Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Feeling aggrieved the appellants -accused (hereinafter referred to as the accused) have preferred the present appeal against the judgment dated 29.3.1994 passed by the learned Special Judge, Shimla, whereby the accused have been convicted under Sections 417IPC and 465/109IPC and each of them has been sentenced to pay fine in the sum of Rs. 7000/ - under Sections 417 IPC and fine of Rs. 800/ - under! Sections 465/109 IPC and in fault of payment of fine, they have been directed to undergo simple imprisonment for six months on each count.

(2.) Brief facts leading to the presentation of this appeal are that in the year 1983 scab disease spread in apple growing belts in the State of Himachal Pradesh, thereby damaging orchards, production therefrom and as a consequence economy of the State. With a view to compensate the orchardists/apple growers, the State Goverrtment decided to procure the scab affected apples @ Rs.50/ - per quintal and then destroy them. A scheme was accordingly formulated. Subsequently, there were allegations regarding fraudulent inflated excess payments having been made under the said scheme to the apple growers. A Commission of Inquiry was, therefore, appointed by the State to go into the allegations. The Commission of Inquiry found that accused Tara Dutt sold 225.50 quintals of scabbed apples on 8.10.1983 and 315 quintals were sold by him on 24.10.1983, to a team appointed for the purpose of such purchase which was handed by one Rajinder Sharma, who was one of the accused before the trail Court. So sold scabbed apples were mentioned as the produce from his orchard known as Sher Phal Udyan, Chhajpur in the receipts issued about the sale of two lots as aforesaid. He received a payment of Rs.27,025/ - on account of the sale of said scabbed apples. Accused Shyam Dutt, 119 quintals scabbed apples on 15,9,1983, 29.4 quintals on 29.9.1983 and 60.30 quintals on 14 9.1983 to the team headed by S.N.KhuIlar who was also one of the accused before the trial Court. The name of the orchard from which these apples were allegedly procured were given in the receipts as Tara Shyam Vatika and Naouse Orchard. He received a sum of Rs. 10,435/ - on account of the aforesaid scabbed apples. The Inquiry Commission got the area of orchards claimed by the accused persons as their orchards/demarcated and the apple trees standing thereon counted. Before the Commission, the accused persons claimed that they had 550 apple trees standing on their land. However, when the District Horticulture Officer went to the spot to work out the optimum produce from the apples, he was shown 874 apple trees, some of which were standing on the land measuring 13.01 big has encroached by the accused persons. According to the assessment of the District Horticulture Officer, the optimum produce from the apples trees shown to be belonging to the accused persons could be 666.94 quintals whereas they had sold 749.20 quintals of scabbed apples in all to the Procurement and Destructions Party. The Commission also found that the accused persons forged most of the receipts regarding sale of the scabbed apples. As a consequence, the Commission concluded that the accused persons, in connivance with the members of the Procurement and Destruction Party, constituted by the Government, received fraudulently wrongful payments by forging the receipts.

(3.) On the basis of an extract of the report of Inquiry Commission, a case was registered against the accused persons and 9 others under Sections 468,420,120 -B IPC and Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947. On investigation and on being satisfied of the commission of the said offences, the investigating agency submitted the charge sheet against the accused persons and 9 others.