Gujarat High Court
Judgename :S.D.Pandit
Ranjitkumar Chakravarti - Appellant
Versus
Co-operative Bank of Baroda Ltd. - Respondent
CRI.M.A. 970 of 1987
Decided On : 04/25/1997
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 – Section 482 – Indian Penal Code, 1860 – Sections 406, 408, 409 and 420, 114 – Confession statement – Misappropriation of amount – Respondent No. 1, has lodged a private complaint before Chief Judicial Magistrate, against present revision applicant and one more person by alleging that they had misappropriated an amount by dishonestly encashing cheques in accounts standing in name of present revision applicant –Present revision applicant had challenged the said order of Chief Judicial Magistrate by preferring a revision application before Sessions Judge, being Criminal Revision Application – Said Criminal Revision Application was heard by Additional Sessions Judge, and by his speaking order passed rejected same and, thereafter, present application has been filed in this Court – Held, It is very difficult for this Court while exercising the powers under Section 482 of Code of Criminal Procedure to come to a contrary conclusion – Court will only like to mention here that material and evidence before Chief Judicial Magistrate also consisted of a confession/statement in writing under the signature of present revision applicant admitting his liability of having caused a wrongful loss to bank and towards same liability, a part payment was also made – A person can alternatively be charged under Sections 406 to 409 or under Section 420, I. P. C – It is true that the ingredients of Sections 406 to 409 and the ingredients of Section 420 are required to be considered – Offence under Sections 406, 408 or 409 and the offence under Section 420 could not go together – But if the alternative charge is framed, it could not be said that an alternative charge is illegal or invalid – Court do not find any illegality of irregularity in order passed by Chief Judicial Magistrate – Court hold that there are no grounds to interfere with the order while exercising the power under Section 482, Cr. P. C – Application dismissed (Paras 5, 6)
( 1 ) RANJITKUMAR Chakravati, original accused in Criminal Case No. 2029 of 1982 on the files of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Baroda, has filed the present application.
( 2 ) RESPONDENT No. 1, co-operative Bank of Baroda, has lodged a private complaint before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Baroda, against the present revision applicant and one more person by alleging that they had misappropriated an amount of Rs. 67,000. 00 by dishonestly encashing the cheques in the accounts standing in the name of the present revision applicant. The complainant had examined its Manager by way of leading evidence before charge. Besides, the oral evidence of the Manager of the complainant, the documentary evidence, including the confession statement given by the present revision applicant, was produced and considering the said material, the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate was pleased to pass an order on 21/01/1984 to frame the charge against the present revision applicant and other accused under Sections 406, 408, 409 and 420 read with Section 114 of I. P. C. The present revision applicant had challenged the said order of the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate by preferring a revision application before the Sessions Judge. Baroda, being Criminal Revision Application No. 32 of 1984. The said Criminal Revision Application No. 32 of 1984 was heard by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Baroda and by his speaking order passed on 10/06/1986, he rejected the same and, thereafter, the present application has been filed in this Court.
( 3 ) IT has been rightly urged before me on behalf of both respondents Nos. 1 and 2, namely, original complainant as well as the State, that the second revision application is not tenable. If the provisions of sub-section (3) of Section 397 of Code of Criminal Procedure are considered, then it would be quite clear that a party who has gone before the Sessions Judge to challenge the order in revision cannot again come before the High Court in revision to challenge the same order. But Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure gives ample power to this Court to consider the orders in order to prevent the abuse of process of law or otherwise to secure the ends of justice. I, therefore, proceed to consider this application as an application under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
( 4 ) THE learned Advocate for the revision applicant vehemently urged before me that, after the private complaint was lodged before the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate was pleased to pass order under Section 156 (3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, directing the police to carry out the investigation. He contended before me that, after passing such an order and without getting any report of investigation from the police, the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate has proceeded to issue the process against the present revision applicant. It seems that the same submissions were also made before the learned Additional Sessions Judge, but in view of the observations made by the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate in his order passed on 21/01/1984, which is at page 16, the said contention could not be entertained and allowed. It has been clearly mentioned by the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate that, after the police were directed to carry out the investigation under Section 156 (3), the police had submitted the report and after considering the said report, the order of issuance of process was passed on 21/01/1984. After the issuance of process, the present revision applicant had appeared and he had also taken part in the proceeding of recording evidence before the charge. Therefore, in the circumstances, the said contention raised on behalf of the revision applicant could not be accepted and entertained and the same is, therefore, rejected.
( 5 ) THE next contention raised on behalf of the revision applicant is that, there is no sufficient material or evidence for framing the charge
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