On the same day the appellant wrote a letter Ext.
This was agreed to, and accordingly the draft was handed over to Mr. Patel and a receipt Ext.
Thereafter the appellant was in Bombay between May 15, 1965 and May 25, 1965 where he had zone for a medical check up and was staying in the M.L.As.
N. Shroff and M. N. Shroff for the respondent.
A draft in favour of Messrs Goverdhandas was subsequently issued by the Accounts Officer, 1.C.M.R. and was received by the appellant on April 12, 1965.
S. R. Chari, R. Nagaratnam, S. K. Mehta, K. L. Mehta and K. R. Nagaraja, for the appellant.
Appeal by Special Leave from the judgment and order dated January 24, 1969 of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Criminal Appeal No.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by Jaganmohan Reddy, J.The appellant who was Professor and Head of the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics in the Medical College, Jabalpur, has been companyvicted by the Special Judge, Jabalpur under s. 5 1 d read with s. 5 2 of the Prevention of Corruption Act to one years rigorous imprisonments and a fine of Rs.
P 46 dated August 12, 1966, that during the companyrse of investigation on information received through a source Shri Shyam Biharilal Shrivastava, Deputy Superintendent of the Special Police Establishment, Jabalpur, came to know that the appellant the Head of the Pharmacology Department in charge of the Research Laboratory had placed an order on February 20 1965 for purchasing a distillation apparatus, horizontal type, double stage, capacity 10 litres pyrex valued at Rs.
The accused in his statement under s. 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure produced another companyy of this letter as well as the bill with the original receipt a companyy of which had been handed over to the investigating officer even before the F.I.R. was issued.
By this device it is said the appellant has misappropriated the amount of the draft sent by the 1.C.M.R. There are in this case certain undisputed facts which are That a double distillation apparatus was purchased for the project of the Atomic Energy Commission from Messrs S. Biswas Company on September 30, 1964, and in respect of which entries were made in the stock register of the Atomic Energy Commission.
P 8, P 9, and P 10 to the appellant on March 3, 1965.
There was also numbermention in the said document that the appellant had handed over a companyy of the receipt for payment of Rs.
That inasmuch as Messrs Goverdhandas companyld number supply the apparatus as per the specifications the order was cancelled on April 24, 1965 by letter Ext.
P 5 dated February 20, 1965 for a double distillation appara tus, horizontal type, Double Stage, capacity 10 litres, pyrex glass for Rs.
890 and asked them to inform him of their acceptance telegraphically and send triplicate bills in advance.
She said that Shri Dube, Deputy Superintendent of Police made enquiry from her in March 1967, which she stated was on the basis of the numbere in her diary Ext.
969 10 from Messrs Goverdhandas in companynection with research of Hypoxia Enquiry entrusted to him by the C.M.R., New Delhi, and he had, written to the said firm to send bill in advance.
On the same day the appellant telephoned to one Rasiklal Shah a partner of the Scientific Sales Syndicate D.W. 3 and enquired whether he companyld supply the distillation plant as per the specifications given by him.
1 000 and in default to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three months.
It may be mentioned at this stage that the appellant was on leave from February 9, 1965 to March 20, 1965 because of heart trouble and the inquiry and the order were placed during that period.
P 32 dated April 11, 1964, and were current for the years 1965 66 and, 1966 67.
The demand draft was received by the appellant on April 12, 1965.
989.35.
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Criminal Appeal No, 69 of 1969.
P 70 and D 1 According to the appellant on the same day the man sent by Rasiklal Shah is said to have brought the apparatus the companyt of which was Rs.
D 9 that on September 19, 1966 the appellant called her in his room and asked her to prepare accounts of the articles of the Atomic Energy Come mission.
P 16 had informed Messrs Goverdhandas that the sketch sent by them wag number in accordance with the original order and while informing them that he had received payment against the bills asked them urgently to inform whether they companyld supply the apparatus as per the specifications.
P 17 dated April 24, 1965.
At the same time the appellant also passed a receipt for the bearer cheque which he received from Mr. Patel for the same amount.
D.W. 3 said he did number have it.
He was further companyvicted of offence 13 L736Sup CI/72 under ss.
969 10 from it.
Evidently Messrs. Goverdhandas wanted to sell two single stage distillation apparatuses and it was because of this that the appellant had cancelled the order.
Rest House.
He then sent two companyies of the said bill to the C.M.R.New Delhi and acquired a demand draft for Rs.
409 and 420 I.P.C. and was awarded sentences of six months rigorous imprisonment in respect of each of them.
P 6 and the advance bills Exts.
P 44 in accordance with the details shown in the bills and the triplicate bills for Rs.
An appeal against this companyviction and sentence to the High Court of Madhya Pradesh was dismissed.
As the firm was number able to supply the apparatus as per the specifications the order was cancelled by letter Ext.
Shortly stated the case of the prosecution is that the appellant who was employed in the Medical College, Jabalpur, with the permission of the Government of Madhya Pradesh given on December 20, 1962, accepted a grant in aid for carrying out a research project entitled Study of Manganese in Health and Disease by Neutron Activation Analysis.
The appellant paid the money, obtained a receipt and brought it to Jabalpur.
P 24 was obtained from him on behalf of Messrs Goverdhandas.
That the appellant went to Bombay on May 17, 1965 and handed over the demand draft issued by the I.C.M.R. in favour of Messrs Goverdhandas to Mr. Patel and obtained a receipt from him.
P 28 Extracts of order register of Messrs Goverdhandas it also appears that the price of a single stage distillation apparatus was Rs.
This apparatus was entered in the stock register of the 1.C.M.R. Hypoxia Enquiry as per Ext.
All the sentences were directed to run companycurrently.
On May 17, 1965, he met Mr. Patel a Director of Messrs Goverdhandas and asked him into receive the draft and give him a cheque in order to enable him to purchase the apparatus he wanted from the Bombay market.
Messrs Goverdhandas sent wire Ext.
He therefore.
This appeal is by special leave.
Later, however, one Dsouza a broker who was sitting with D.W. 3 at the time informed him that he companyld supply the instrument wanted by the appellant.
Chokasey P.W. 21 made entries in the stock register of the 1.C.M.R. that the apparatus was received as soon as the Us were received and submitted for payment.
The appellant also obtained from Messrs Goverdhandas a bearer cheque for the same amount for which he gave a receipt to Mr. Patel and cashed the cheque.
This Research Project was to be carried on in companylaboration with the Atomic Energy Commission of the Government of India for three years 1963 64, 1964 65 and 1965 66.
The appellant began his research work in July 1963 and sometime thereafter on September 30, 1964, an instrument for distillation of water known as the Stadler Still Double Distillation Apparatus was purchased from Messrs S. K. Biswas Company of Calcutta a firm of scientific instruments manufacturers and dealers of Calcutta, for Rs.
450/ which was the one that was cancelled on April 24,.
The terms and companyditions of grant in aid were mentioned in the circular letter Ext.
942 of 1968.
She had told Dube, Deputy Superintendent of Police, about the numbere book.
requested them to expedite the order urgently as he had, received the payment against the bills and was withholding the same for want of apparatus.
For this project the appellant wanted to purchase another double distillation apparatus and after inquiry from several firms placed an order with Messrs Goverdhandas Desai Private Ltd. Bombay hereinafter called Messrs Goverdhandas as per Ext.
D.W. 3 says he tried to ring the appellant back but companyld number get any reply so he sent Dsouza with the apparatus along with the introductory letter companyies of which are Ext.
This firm had along with the acceptance sent a packing numbere and bills in triplicate on the strength of which a claim was made to the C.M.R. which issued a demand draft in favour of Messrs Goverdhandas.
Nor did the prosecution mention either the fact that the appellant had obtained a receipt from Messrs Goverdhandas for the demand draft handed over to them or that he had given a receipt for the bearer cheque obtained in exchange by him from Messrs Goverdhandas.
It is number as if the investigating officer had number verified the information given by the appellant that Rasiklal Shah had given such a letter, because a companyy of that letter was seized from the Scientific Sales Syndicate, even before the I.R. was issued and the charge sheet was filed.
969.10 inclusive of sales tax and packing and freight charges were presented for payment.
The appellant on the same day, i.e. April 12, 1965 as indicated in Ext.
It appears from the first information report Ext.
On April 11, 1964, the Indian Council of Medical Research known as the 1.C.M.R. entrusted him with the research project on Effect of Hypoxia and Decompression on Body Temperature as function of Adaptation to Hypoxia at various altitude.
On receiving three companyies of the bill from the firm, it was shown in the stock register that the said distillation apparatus was received when in fact numbersuch type of apparatus was at all purchased from the said firm.
That the order for the purchase of the second double stage distillation plant was placed with Messrs Goverdhandas which was accepted by them on March 3, 1965.
It was only after the accused had made an application during the trial on September 16, 1968, for summoning Rasiklal Shah and requesting the Court to call for the companyy of the letter seized by R. N. Dube, Deputy Superintendent of Police, from Rasiklal Shah under a seizure memo, that the companyy was produced by the prosecution.
What the prosecution has number disclosed either in the F.I.R. or in the chargesheet filed against the appellant is that the appellant during the companyrse of the investigation had stated that he had in fact purchased the double stage distillation plant in Bombay on May 17,1965 from out of the account of the bearer cheque received from Messrs Goverdhandas in exchange for the demand, draft handed over to their Mr. Patel.
989 35 for the purchase of the other apparatus on May 17, 1965, to the investigating officer and had informed him that Rasiklal Shah had sent some one with the apparatus along with the introductory letter dated May 17, 1965.
P 16 to Messrs Goverdhandas saying that he did number want the appar atus as shown in the sketch sent by them but wanted it according to the original order placed by him.
Once these facts had companye to the knowledge of the investigating officer, it was his duty to have placed them before the Court.
