RAMESHWAR OJHA Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Mr. Gopal Govind Mishra, learned counsel for the petitioner, Mr. Lakshmi Kant Sharma and Mr. Sri Panchanand Pandit, learned APPs for the State.

(2.) The instant petition has been filed under Sec. 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (in short 'Cr.P.C.') against the order dtd. 9/6/2016 passed by learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate VII, Ara (Bhojpur) in G.R. No. 191 of 2010, Trial No. 505 of 2016 arising out of Sandesh Police Station Case No. 09 of 2010 in which a petition filed under Sec. 239 of Cr.P.C. with a prayer to discharge the petitioner from the alleged offences has been rejected by the order impugned and the same is under challenge before this Court.

(3.) Heard both the sides and perused the order impugned and other relevant materials. The main grounds taken by the petitioner's counsel are that the informant himself withdrew the alleged amount and in this regard, the withdrawal forms dtd. 14/9/2009, 8/9/2009 and 22/8/2009 are relevant and the same have been annexed with the petition as Annexure- 2. Further, prior sanction to prosecute the petitioner for the alleged offences was not taken by the learned trial Court before passing the cognizance order and it is an admitted position that at the time of commission of the alleged offences, the petitioner was discharging his official duty on the post of Post Master at Fulari Post Office. The second ground is that as per the Post Office Rules, if signature of a depositor on a withdrawal application differs from the specimen on record then the payment will be made only after identification of the depositor's signature on the withdrawal application by someone other than the agent of the depositor and the said Rule was completely followed by the petitioner while allowing the withdrawal applications.