STATE OF U P Vs. LAKHAN LAL SAXENA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal on behalf of the State of Uttar Pradesh has been filed against the judgment and order dated 19 -2 -1981 passed by Sri R.S. Maurya, Judicial Magistrate, Mahoba District Hamirpur in Criminal Case No. 900 of 1979 under Section 409 IPC Police Station Ajnar whereby the learned Magistrate acquitted the accused respondent of the charge under Section 409 IPC having found not guilty.

(2.) THE facts of the case are that the accused -respondent Lakhan Lal Saxena was posted as Post Master in post office of village Tikaria at the relevant time. One Uma Shanker Nayak was having a Savings Bank Account in the said post office in his name. He is said to have deposited Rs. 1,500/ -in that account on 20 -1 -1976 and again Rs. 1,500 on 2 -3 -1976. The accused -respondent, in his capacity of the Post master is said to have made entries of those deposits, on the said dates in the pass book issued from the post office to Uma Shanker Nayak in connection with his account. The said entries were also said to have been initialled by Lakhan Lal and the seal of the post office was also put against both the deposit entries. It is said that Inspector Post Office, Sub -Division, Mahoba i.e. Sri H.K. Agarwal, the complainant of this case, made inspection of the post office and he found certain irregularities in the Saving Bank accounts of the post office. Uma Shanker Nayak, when came to know about such irregularities in the Saving Bank Accounts of the Post Office through one Bhagirath Pradhan of the Gaon Sabha, he gave in writing about the irregularities in his account to the Sub -Post Master Jaitpur. According to him, he had made the said deposits by paying cash to the then Post Master Lakhan Lal but the Post Master, the accused of this case, did not make such entries in the relevant registers maintained at the post office and returned the Pass Book to him after making entries of the said deposits. The complainant Sri H.K. Agarwal also found irregularities in connection with these deposits as the entries of said deposits were not found by him in the relevant records of the post office. He lodged a report at the Police Station under Section 409 IPC against the accused Lakhan Lal.

(3.) THE learned Magistrate proceeded with the trial of the case. He recorded prosecution evidence and after considering the entire evidence produced by the prosecution and hearing the Counsel for he parties acquitted the accused -respondent vide his judgment and order dated 19 -2 -1981, as in his opinion, the prosecution had failed to establish the charge under Section 409 IPC against the accused respondent.