The court will not interfere with the unanimous verdict of a jury unless there is misdirection or non-direction on material facts or the verdict is manifestly perverse or erroneous.

( 1 ) THIS appeal is under Section 417 (3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure and is directed against an order of acquittal passed by Sri K. D. Banerjee, Assistant Sessions Judge, Howrah in agreement with the unanimous verdict of not guilty by the Jury.

( 2 ) THE respondent Lalit Kumar Sen Gupta was tried by the Assistant Sessions Judge Howrah and a Jury on charges under Sections 467 and 419 of the Indian Penal Code. The learned Assistant Sessions Judge having agreed with the unanimous verdict of not guilty returned by the Jury accepted the same and acquitted the respondent.

( 3 ) THE case against the respondent was that a sum of Rs. 102/2/- from the Provident Fund Money was due from Sri Mahadeo Jute Mill, Bally to P. W. 2 Kshetrabashi Panda who was working there and who had resigned from service. The respondent who was stated to be a neighbour offered his services to Kshetrabashi for withdrawal of the said money and for that purpose wrote out several applications to the Mill authorities whereon Kshetrabashi put his thumb impressions. On these applications the address of Kshetrabashi was stated as care of Lalit Kumar Sen Gupta, the respondent. On receipt of these applications the Mill Authorities remitted a sum of Rs. 100/8/- by money order after deducting the money order commission to Kshetrabashi. The Postal peon, P. W. 1 Niranjan Mondal came to deliver the money order at the house of the respondent at 158, Dewangazi Road, Bally. At that time the respondent set up another man for Kshetrabashi, caused his left thumb impression to be affixed on the money order acknowledgement and on the money order paid voucher and himself made an endorsement 'l. T. I, of Kshetrabashi" over the signature 'l. K. Sen Gupta' as witness to the payment on the money order acknowledgement as well as on the money order paid voucher. Kshetrabashi, however, was in the meantime approaching the respondent from time to time enquiring about his provident fund money but the respondent on every occasion gave out that it had not been received. Ultimately Kshetrabashi approached the officers of the said Jute Mill and learnt that the money had been sent long ago. Kshetrabashi then approached the respondent who denied having received any money order remittance. Kshetrabashi filed a petition of complaint before the Sub-Divisional Officer, Howrah against the respondent which was dismissed. A petition of revival of the said complaint was also rejected. Thereafter a fresh petition of complaint was filed which the Sub-Divisional Officer, Howrah sent to the Police for investigation. This investigation resulted in a charge sheet and the present trial before the learned Assistant Sessions Judge and a Jury

( 4 ) THE charge under Section 467 of the Indian Penal Code was for forging a money order receipt purporting to be an acknowledgement for payment of the money by making another person falsely signing it as Kshetrabashi Panda and the respondent himself certifying the identity of the fictitious person being a witness to the payment. The other charge under Section 419 of the Indian Penal Code was for cheating by personation by dishonestly inducing the peon to deliver the money intended for Kshetrabashi Panda to that fictitious person set up by him.

( 5 ) THE defence of the respondent was that he did not know Kshetrabashi and that a man named Jadu introduced another man as Kshetrabashi to him and that man wrote out on behalf of Kshetrabashi an application to the Mill authorities for withdrawal of the Provident Fund Money. That man who was not known to the respondent represented himself as Kshetrabashi to the Postal peon and received payment of the money order by putting left thumb impression on the money order acknowledgement and the money order paid voucher whilst the respondent in bona fide belief that he was the payee Kshetrabashi made the endorsement 'l. T. I, of Kshetrabashi' over his signature on the money order acknowledgement and the money order pai