M. Hidayatullah, J. - (1.) THE Appellant Fakhruddin has been convicted under Sections 465, 467, 417, 419, 471 and 120 -B of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced in the aggregate to three years' rigorous imprisonment, by the 2nd Additional Sessions Judge, Indore. His appeal to the High Court of Madhya Pradesh (Indore Bench) was dismissed by the judgment under appeal.
(2.) AS many as 7 persons (including Fakhruddin) were presented for criminal conspiracy, forgery, cheating and personation. They were alleged to have conspired together to forge applications for permit for corrugated and plain iron sheets in the names of non -existing persons. It was alleged against some of them that in the prosecution of the conspiracy they had committed the several offences above -mentioned. Fakhruddin was one such person. The Additional Sessions Judge convicted only three and acquitted the rest. They were Fakhruddin, one Ali Hussain and a cartman by name Anandilal. On appeal, the High Court acquitted Ali Hussain and Anandilal. Thus of the seven original accused, Fakhruddin alone has suffered conviction. Fakhruddin like some of the other accused who have since been acquitted was in the hardware business. The modus employed in the commission of the offences was to present applications for permits to the Civil Supplies Officer in fictitious names and to obtain the permits by pretending to be the applicants. Persons desiring to obtain iron -sheets had to apply on printed forms stating their names, addresses and the kind, size and quantity of the sheets desired. The permits were made in triplicate copies and the third counter -foil was required to be signed in token of receipt of the permit. The permit and one extra copy were handed over to the successful applicants, who on presentation of the permit to the Indore Iron and Steel Registered Stockholders Association, received the items mentioned in the permits. Although the iron -sheets were not rationed, the issuance of permits was with a view to keeping a check so that only genuine users might benefit and the passing of the sheets into the black market prevented. As a matter of fact slackness in or absence of verification of the identity of the applicants and their needs, made it easy for some persons in the trade to resort to such devices to obtain supplies with a view to profiteering.
(3.) ON November 28, 1960, Fakhruddin presented at the office of the Association seven permits. Three of these permits are marked Exhs. P. 28, 30 and 35. They were in the names of Munnalal, Devilal and Laxminarayan, These were fictitious names. Before the iron sheets could be weighed and other formalities could be completed, the Police arrived and arrested Fakhruddin. It was then found on investigation that Fakhruddin had presented several applications in other fictitious names and the charge in this case is in respect of five Exhs. P. 13, 15, 16, 17 and 24 which stood respectively in the names of Manak -chand, Surojmal, Hiralal s/o Chotelal, Munnalal, Gulabchand who were all fictitious persons.;