- (1.) Leave granted in each of the Special Leave Petitions.
(2.) The appellants who have been acquitted of the charges under Sections 406 and 420 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal code have filed the instant appeals challenging the conviction ordered by the High Court of Karnataka in the exercise of its Revisional Jurisdiction under Section 397 read with Section 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The appellant in each of the appeals has been sentenced to undergo R.I. for three months for the offence punishable under Section 406 IPC and R.I for six months for the offence under Section 420 IPC. While both the sentences of imprisonment are to run concurrently, each of the appellants has also been sentenced to pay fine or undergo the default sentence that has been imposed.
(3.) The facts lie within a short compass and may be briefly enumerated herein under. The respondent No. 1 in each of these appeals i.e. Karnataka Industrial Corporation Bank Ltd., Hubli (hereinafter shall be referred to the complainant Bank ) had filed 18 different complaints in the Court of Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Hubli alleging that between 12.07.2003 and 31.03.2004 loans were taken by each of the appellants by mortgaging gold ornaments. According to the complainant Bank, on 10.06.2004, a news item had appeared in the local newspapers that the appraiser of Maratha Cooperative Bank had given false appraisal reports on the basis of which the said bank had granted loans against fake gold ornaments. As the said person was also the appraiser of the complainant Bank the gold ornaments pledged with the complainant bank by the accused were verified through another appraiser (PW.4) who certified the gold ornaments pledged by the accused to be fake. Accordingly, the complaints in question were filed alleging commission of offences under Section 406, 420 read with Section 34 of the IPC by each of the accused persons who had taken loans from the complainant Bank by pledging fake gold ornaments. The complaints were referred, by the learned Magistrate, to the police for investigation and on completion of such investigation charge sheets were filed in the Court against each of the accused. Thereafter charges were framed to which the accused pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried. All the complaint cases were taken up for trial together and the evidence of the prosecution was recorded in the complaint case registered and numbered as CC. No. 1235 of 2005. In the course of the trial six witnesses were examined by the prosecution and several documents were also exhibited. Thereafter, the learned trial court by order dated 29.2.2008 acquitted each of the accused of the charges levelled against them. It may also be noticed that during the pendency of the trial, the appraiser, who was impleaded as the second accused had died. Aggrieved by the said acquittal, the complaint Bank instituted separate Revision applications before the High Court of Karnataka. The High Court by its common order dated 16/11/2010 and 22/3/2011 allowed each of the Revision Applications filed by the complainant Bank and convicted and sentenced the accused as aforesaid. Aggrieved the present appeals have been filed. ;