Passport Ext.
The facts, so far as the appellant is companycerned, are that the appellant at the relevant time was working as a Cargo Clerk in the Indian Air Lines at Delhi On 23rd January, 1954, three persons namely Pakhar Singh, Mehar Singh and Niranjan Singh went to Jodhpur Airport with Passports for boarding in the plane go ing to Karachi from where they were to proceed to Great Britain.
P 11A the endorsement is at page 7 and reads as follows No.
All of them were heard together by the High Court.
The allegation is that the endorsements on all these three passports validating them for the western companyntries were in the handwriting of the appellant, Mahendra Singh.
The passport Ext P 15A which was carried by Mehar Singh had been issued in the name of one Hamam Singh though the photograph thereon was of Mehar Singh.
Kartar Singh who was alleged to have helped at Jodhpur was given the benefit of doubt and acquitted.
The companyviction of Pakhar Singh and Mehar Singh.
So they were all charged under Section 120B, I.P.C. Since the three travellers Pakhar Singh, Mehar Singh and Niranjan Singh had impersonated other persons and had either forged the passports or used them as genuine, they were charged under Sections 419, 465, 466 and Section 471, I.P.C. The genuine owners of the passports, namely, Shiv Singh and Harnam Singh were charged for the abetment of the above offences.
1002 Date 20th June 1953.
He obtained Ext.
The passport Ext.
The first one was originally valid for India and Philippines the second for Singapore and Indonesia and the third for Uganda Protectorate via Kenya.
Being Sikhs they were keeping beard but Kartar Singh arranged for shaving the beards and to give them a proper hair cut.
It must however, be numbered that Pakhar Singh, Mehar Singh and Niranjan Singh were lodged in the house hired by the appellant before they emplaned at Jodhpur.
After examining the luggage and passports, they were allowed to board the plane but the Officer, Shri Sukhdeo Muni, entertained some suspicion about them and so before the plane left, he went inside the plane, examined the passports more closely and on interrogation realised that the passports were forged.
The subsequent endorsements,however, purporting to be made by the Home Secretary, Delhi State Govt.,
Passport Ext.
Niranjan Singh, however, was number available at the time of trial as he had.
In Sessions Case No.
P 11A was the subject matter of Sessions case No.
P 15A was the subject matter matter of Sessions Case No 16 of 1961 and passport Ext.
After the investigation was over the Police sent in one Charge sheet against Pakhar Singh, Mehar Singh, Niranjan Singh, Karam Singh, Kartar Singh and the appellant Mahendra Singh.
Phagwara Railway Station assuring them that they will get their passports and other documents at Jodhpur.
These endorsements, as also the signature of the Home Secretary and the seals affixed thereon are said to be forged.
The passport in the possession of Pakhar Singh which is Ext P 5A though it bore the photograph of Pakhar Singh had been issued in the name of one Shiv Singh.
The learned Additional Sessions Judge does number appear to have given any thought to the dropping of the charge under Section 120B and proceeded to try the accused in three separate cases.
P 64 and P 49.
P 15A. On the other hand, the letter b is to be found in several places in Exts.
P 5A was the subject matter of Sessions Case No.
Out of the three genuine passport holders namely Shiv Singh, Kahan Singh and Harnam Singh, the first and the third were also included in the Charge sheet.
The case in the Charge sheet was that there was a passport racket and the accused had been engaged in a criminal companyspiracy.
17 of 1961.
As against Puris evidence, the appellant examined a companyleague Franklin who had greater opportunity to see the appellant write and sign.
One Karam Singh from Punjab made it a business to procure forged passports for money companysideration.
Mehar Singh and Niranjan Singh and saw them off at.
We have already referred to the fact that after Pakhar Singh, Mehar Singh and Niranjan Singh had boarded the plane, they were removed from it by Mr. Sukhdeo Muni.
P 5A the endorsement reads at page 7 as follows No.
On further investigation, the following facts came to numberice.
In Sessions Case No.
On behalf of the prosecution a handwriting expert named K.R. Lal was examined.
Karam Singh was acquitted in the first two cases but his companyviction under Sections 419 and 471 both read with Section 109 was maintained.
At the time of the trial, this expert had died but his statement in the Committing Court was taken on record.
P 11A which was carried by Niranjan Singh had been issued to one Kanan Singh though it bore the photograph of Niranjan Singh.
After the trio got down at the Jodhpur Railway Station they were met by one Kartar Singh.
The prosecution case is that it was Kartar Singh who had brought these travellers to this house and it was Kartar Singh who arranged for taking them to the Airport.
The other evidence on which the prosecution relied was the evidence of one B. M. Puri who was at the relevant time Superintendent in the Indian Air Lines and was the official superior of the appellant.
Delhi were found to be made on some dates in 1953 validating them for some of the western companyntries including Great Britain, Egypt, Iraq, Iran etc.,
15 of 1961.
Italy, Iraq, Iran and Pakistan In the passport Ext.
The companyvicted accused therefore, filed separate appeals which were, in all, ten in number.
The forged passport holders under Sections 419 and 471 was companyfirmed the owners of the passports namely Shiv Singh and Harnam Singh were acquitted.
2909 Date 30th December, 1953.
Kartar Singh obtained the photographs and, thereafter, delivered the passports and the travel documents to the customers and himself took them to the Airport in a Taxi.
The learned Additional Sessions Judge companyvicted all the accused before the Court on almost all the charges.
16 of 1961 the accused were 1 Mehar Singh 2 Kartar Singh 3 Karam Singh and 4 Mahendra Singh.
in the meantime, absconded.
P 11A and Ext.
15 of 1961 the accused were 1 Pakhar Singh 2 Shiv Singh 3 Kartar Singh 4 Karam Singh and 5 Mahendra Singh, In Sessions Case No.
17 of 1961 the accused were 1 Niranjan Singh 2 Harnam Singh 3 Karam Singh 4 Kartar Singh and 5 Mahendra Singh.
P 5A from Shiv Singh, Ext P 15A from one Kahan Singh and Ext.
Kartar Singh then took them to a local photographer, and in the meantime, lodged them in a part of the house of one Manohar Singh the same having been hired by the appellant a few days earlier.
Karam Singh purchased rail tickets from Phagwara to Jodhpur for Pakhar Singh.
In the passport Ext.
P 11A from Harnam Singh and had them forged for the benefit of Pakhar Singh, Mehar Singh and Niranjan Singh respectively.
In the passport Ext.
Similar were the charges against Karam Singh, Kartar Singh and the appellant Mahendra Singh except that the appellant instead of being charged for the abetment of the offence under Section 466, I.P.C. was charged for the substantive offence under Section 466.
The sentences of imprisonment imposed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge were reduced by the High Court to the period already undergone.
G. Palekar, J. These are appeals by Special leave by one Mahendra Singh from an order of companyviction under Sections 419 and 471 both read with Sections 109 and 466, I.P.C. recorded by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Jodhpur companyfirmed in appeal by the High Court of Rajasthan so far as Sections 466 and 471 read with Section 109, I.P.C. are companycerned.
He, therefore, made these three persons alight from the plane and took them to the Police Station.
