Judgment

BHARGAVA, J. : These six appeals, filed on the basis of certificates granted by the High Court of Punjab, arise out of a single Judgment of that Court, and consequently, they have been heard together. Two of the appeals Nos. 150 and 151 of 1962 have been brought up by Bakhshish Singh Dhaliwal (hereinafter referred to as "the appellant") against his convictions on three different charges of cheating under S. 420 of the Indian Penal Code which were upheld by the High Court. The remaining four appeals Nos. 196 to 199 of 1962 have been filed by the State of Punjab against the acquittal of the appellant in respect of offences of cheating on some other counts recorded by the High Court.

2. There were all together four trials before a Special Tribunal originally constituted under ordinance 29 of 1943. In these four trials, the appellant was charged for having committed ten different offences of cheating by making representations to the Government of Burma and obtaining payments of money to the extent of over Rs. 6 lakhs which included payments in respect of works which had not been carried out by him as a contractor, though he claimed that the work had been done and he was entitled