The circumstances relating to the above appeal may be shortly stated as follows One Ramjiwan Himat Singka, who was the Director and Managing Agent of the Express Auto Service, Ltd., was prosecuted, along with the appellant, for an offence Under Section 120 B, read with Section 420, Penal Code, before the First Class Magistrate of Patna, who companyvicted both of them of that offence, which companyviction having been companyfirmed in appeal by the Third Additional Sessions Judge of Patna, was made the subject of a revision before the High Court of Patna which acquitted both the appellant and Ramjiwan Himat Singka of the offence of companyspiracy.
The appellant, as the General Manager of the Company, is alleged to have entered into a companyspiracy with the Director and Manager for the purpose of cheating the Government by procuring petrol coupons during the years 1947.1948, when petrol rationing was in operation in the State of Bihar.
Though there was some dispute as regards the number existence of the nine vehicles above mentioned, during the companyrse of the appeal before the High Court, it was numberlonger challenged that the statements in Exs.
15 and 16 to the effect that the tax had been paid in respect of these nine vehicles were, wrong and also that the implied assertion with respect to the three of these vehicles, namely B, R. L. 547, B. R. L. 550, and B. R. J. 554, that they were in a road worthy companydition, was also wrong.
The Express Auto Service, Ltd., is a private Limited Company, owning a large number of motor buses and trucks, plying between the important towns of the State of Bihar, with its Headquarters at Dumka.
Four out of these buses, mentioned in EX.
16, namely, B. R. J. 475, B. R. 3.
The sentence Under Section 193, Penal Code was also companyfirmed but was directed to run companycurrently with the other sentence.
As stated already with regard to the appellant, there were companyvictions Under Sections 420 and 193, Penal Code, which were companyfirmed and the sentence passed on him for the offence of companyspiracy was transposed for the offence of cheating.
476, B. R. L. 535, B. R. L. 547 and B. R. L. 550 were either number in existence, or number in a road worthy companydition at the time EXS.
The modus operandi attributed to the accused persons was that in the application for companypons for petrol a number of trucks and buses which were number in a road worthy companydition and for which taxes had number been paid, were included as being a running companydition and on that misrepresentation the rationing authorities were induced to part with petrol companypons which they would number have done if they were apprised of the real state of circumstances.
So far as the present appeal is companycerned, the charge is restricted to nine vehicles, which were number in existence or number in a road worthy companydition at the time the applications EXS.
40,000 as tax with respect to the vehicles, the General Manager companyld number be expected to know the accurate details of what had happened but would have to depend upon his office staff for the companyrectness of the statements companytained in the applications.
P. 15 and 16 were filed on 05.02.1948 before the petrol rationing authority.
15 and 16 were false.
15, namely, B.K.J. 307, B. R. L. 554, B. R. L. 581 and 560, and five trucks out of those mentioned in EX.
In companyumn NO.
3 of EXS.
On the strength of the certificate companytained in them, namely, that the companytents of the applications were companyrect and that numberother application for ordinary companypons in respect of the vehicles mentioned underneath as State carriages, had been made, the petrol rationing authority directed the issue of specific quantity of units of petrol by issuing the requisite companypons.
15 and 16 it has been stated that the tax due on these vehicles had been paid up to 31.03.1948.
P. 15 and 16 had been filed by the appellant.
