- (1.) THE applicant Girraj Kishore was convicted by a Magistrate of the First Class for having contravened the provisions of the High Denomination Bank Notes (Demonitisation) Ordinance, 1946, Ordinance No. III of 1946, and has been sentenced to undergo two years' rigorous imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs. 2,000/- in default of payment of the fine to a further term of rigoroua imprisonment for six months. The learned Magistrate's order is in these terms: "i find the accused Girraj Kishore-guilty of the offence under Section 7 (1) of the Ordinance No. III of 1946 for contravening Section 4 of the Ordinance by exchanging one thousand rupee notes on 14-1-1946, from the Sagri Sub-treasury without filing a declaration as required under sub-section (2) of Section 6 of the Ordinance and convict him under the said section of the said ordinance. "
(2.) GIRRAJ Kishore was Treasurer's agent at the Azamgarh Government Treasury and the charge against him was that on the 14th of January, 1946, he had exchanged 20 notes of Rs. 1,000/-each for notes of lower denomination without making a declaration as provided in Section 6 of the ordinance. The relevant portion of Section 6 is as follows: "6 (1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (II of 1934), any high denomination bant note held by a person other than a bank or government treasury shall after the 12th day of January 1946 be exchanged only on tender of the note for exchange by the owner thereof in the manner provided in this section. (2) Every such owner of a high denomination bank note desiring to tender it for exchange shall prepare in the form set out in the Schedule or in a form as near thereto as may be, three copies of a declaration signed by him giving in full the particulars required by that form, and shall, within ten days after the commencement of this Ordinance, deliver such copies in person together with the high denomination bank notes he desires to exchange to a branch of the Reserve Bank or to a scheduled bank or to a Government treasury. " The proviso to the sub-section is not relevant. The other sub-sections also need not be quoted as they are not relevant for our purposes.
(3.) A prosecution under this Ordinance can only be instituted under the previous sanction of the central Government (vide Section 7 (3) ). On 8th February, 1947, the sanction to institute the proceedings was given by the Government of India under Sub-section (3) of Section 7 of the ordinance, in these terms: "the Central Government is pleased to sanction the institution of prosecution proceedings against Mr. Girraj Kishore, Government Treasurer's Agent who is alleged to have exchanged 20 pieces of one-thousand rupee notes on 14th January, 194g, from the Sub-Treasury, Sagri, contrary to the provisions of the Ordinance and thus to have contravened Section 4 of the ordinance in circumstances which constitute an offence punishable under Section 7 of the said ordinance. ";