Mere lapse of time should not be a ground for quashing a proceeding, and a full inquiry into the question of trust is essential in cases under Section 406 of the IPC.

Aditya Kumar Trivedi, J.-Petitioner Jagdish Prasad Singh has prayed for quashing of entire proceeding arising out of K. Hat P.S. Case No. 457 of 1997, instituted under Section 406/34 of the IPC.

2. Shorn of unnecessary details, K. Hat P.S. Case No. 457 of 1997 under Sections 406/34 be; n out on the basis of the written report submitted by Ramji Sinha, Electrical Executive Engineer on the allegation that there has been theft/criminal breach of trust of copper coils from the Store of Meter Relay Testing Division (I) in between 28.5.1992 to 15.7.1997, the period during which Jagdish Prasad Singh was the Incharge being Assistant Engineer, Bihar State Electricity Board to the tune of Rs. 1,26,1051- approximately.

3. Contention on behalf of the petitioner is that the Executive Engineer himself happens to be defaulter and to save his skin, has filed instant case. It has further been submitted that, that happens to be the reason behind that since 1997, the investigation is in progress but the investigating authority failed to submit police report and that shows that actually uptil now, no definite material has been collected which could justify complicity of petitioner as an accused. Also submitted that petitioner who. now has retired, faced severe trauma on account of pendency of the case as well as now he has• been continuously deprived of monetary benefit, which the petitioner is entitled for on account of his retirement/superannuation: Then submitted that admittedly during the . relevant period petitioner was Incharge of Store No.1. Also submitted that for the purpose of crystallizing allegation against the petitioner, the informant was under obligation to produce stock register, receiving register, issuing register, gate pass so that any unscrupulous activity as alleged, at the hands of petitioner could be tested and verified. It has further been submitted that now the prosecution is barred under Section 468 of the Cr.P.C.

4. Surprisingly, with ulterior motive the prosecution has to its best knowledge, withhold those documents as such, the prayer of the petitioner appears to be bona fide. Consequent thereupon, the instant petition is fit to be allowed.

5. The State has filed counter affidavit and from perusal of the same as well as from the submission so raised on behalf of the State, the investigation of K. Hat P.S. Case No. 457/1997 is already completed and charge-sheet had already been filed in the year 2006 itself followed with other legal formalities. Therefore, the prayer of the petitioner, for the present, is non-tenable. Apart from this, it has also been submitted that petitioner had come up before this Court at an earlier occasion vide Cr. Misc. No. 37144 of 2004 and during hearing of. aforesaid Cr. Misc. Petition, the Court was not pleased to accede with the submission as a result of which it was dismissed as withdrawn on 1.12.2005. Then, it has been submitted that petitioner himself carries dubious character whereunder to defeat the process of law filed instant petition because of the fact that at an earlier occasion vide Cr. Misc. No. 701/1998 was granted provisional anticipatory bail with a direction to surrender before the learned lower court but instead thereof, petitioner is evading his presence before the learned lower court.

6. Though charge-sheet had already been submitted in the year 2006 even then, the petitioner cannot claim as a matter of right for quashing of the investigation on account of delay as has been held and reported in (2009)16 see 393 and the relevi1nt para is para no. 3 which runs as follows:..-!. .

"The decision in Abdul Rehman Antulayvs. R.S. Nayak stands considered in the latter pronouncement of this Court in P. Ramachandra Rao vs. State of Karnataka wherein 'Common Cause' A Registered Society vs. Union of India, 'Common Cause' A Registered Society vs. Union of India; Raj Deo Sharma VS. State of Bihar and Raj Deo Sharma (II) VS. State of Bihar were stated to be no longer good laws. This C