ORDER :

1. Both the petitioners are arraigned as accused in the impugned FIR bearing C.R. No. I - 52 of 2016 dated 08.09.2016 registered with Sami Police Station, Patan, for the offences punishable under Sections 409, 465, 467, 477A and 114 of the Indian Penal Code and both the petitioners have prayed for quashing the same under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

2. It is alleged in the FIR that Swachchh Bharat Mission (Scheme) came to be introduced and implemented by the State of Gujarat since the year 2014. Under the scheme it was decided to give monetary help by way of grant to the Gram Panchayat. It is submitted that as per the scheme the Gram Panchayat has to pass resolution including the area in which the money is required and thereafter the same is to be submitted to the Deputy Taluka Officer. It is submitted that the Deputy Taluka Officer and Extension Officer has to verify all the records, and after detailed verification, the said record is required to be forwarded to the Taluka Development Officer (for short “TDO”), who, in turn, forward all the documents and records to the District Development Officer (for short “DDO”) alongwith proposal (Darkhast) for grant of the amount as stated by the Gram Panchayat in the resolution.

2.1 Thereafter the DDO is required to re-verify all the details, and after endorsing the same, the DDO will submit the proposal to the Secretary, State Government, for sanctioning the amount of grant. The Secretary, State Government, is the only sanctioning authority of the grant. It is stated by the petitioners that the DDO is duty bound to re-verify all the details and the correctness of amount which is decided by way of resolution passed and the Government authority has power to sanction the amount. In view of this fact, both the petitioners i.e. TDO of Sami Taluka, and the senior clerk of Taluka Panchayat Officer have no role to play in whole of the process.

2.2 The allegation against the petitioners are of creating false and forged documents and of having forwarded the same to the higher authority but the petitioners denies the same by stating that it is completely misconceived and false apparently looking to the procedure laid down as stated above. The petitioners states that, as per the scheme, the records are required to be prepared by Gram Panchayat and the Deputy Taluka Development Department has to verify the records and resolution and thereafter the same was forwarded to the TDO, who is the petitioner of Criminal Misc. Application No. 4839 of 2019. The petitioner states that the FIR reveals that the amount of grant is already deposited in the bank account of Gram Panchayat and it is not the case of the complainant that the money has been siphoned off by the petitioners or the same was recovered from the bank account of the petitioners.

2.3 The petitioner of Special Criminal Application No. 3107 of 2017 states that he was posted as Senior Clerk with Sami Taluka Panchayat, and at the relevant time a scheme floated by the Government of Gujarat i.e. “Swachchh Gam and Swachchh Gram Yojna” was in operation, and under the said scheme announced by the Government during the period 2014-2015, a promotional grant was offered to the Village Panchayats situated in the State of Gujarat, and for the said purpose, village panchayats for the purpose of disbursement of the amount by sanctioning the grant announced under the said scheme, the petitioner states that the proposal is prepared by Gram Panchayat Committee consisting of four members : (1) Representative from Director of District Village Development Agency, (2) Representative appointed by the Principal District Health Officer, (3) Representative appointed by District Social Welfare Officer and (4) Deputy District Development Officer (Panchayat). The petitioner states that the committee consisting of these four members would prescribe broad guidelines and would instruct the concerned TDO to get the proposal prepared from concerned Village P