The Criminal Appeal (J) No. 92/2015, has been preferred by appellant Sri Basab Bijoy Dutta against the judgment and order dated 06.06.2015 in Special Case No. 29/2005 passed by the learned Special Judge, CBI, Additional Court No. 1, Assam convicting and sentencing the appellant to rigorous imprisonment for 7 years and to pay a fine of Rs.5,00,000 in default to undergo simple imprisonment for 1 year for his conviction under Section 420 of Indian Penal Code (IPC).

2. The facts leading to this appeal may be summarized as follows:-

3. On 30.8.2005, an FIR was lodged by the then Superintendent of Police, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), alleging that accused Sri Khagen Medhi, Md. Abdul Matlib, Smti Basanti Debnath and the present appellant Sri Basab Bijoy Dutta @ Sri Anup Gupta had fraudulently and dishonestly encashed 50 numbers of forged Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) from the Gauhati University Head Post Office, Guwahati, and thereby caused wrongful loss to the government to the tune of Rs 10 lacs.

4. A case, vide RC 14 (A)/2005, under Section 120B/420 IPC read with Section 13(2) and 13 (1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, was registered and upon completion of investigation, charge-sheet was filed against Md. Abdul Matlib for offences under Section 120B/420 IPC 13(1)(d) r/w 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. As against Smti Basanti Debnath charge-sheet was laid for the offences under Section 120B/420 IPC and so far as the present appellant Sri Basab Bijoy Dutta @ Sri Anup Gupta, is concerned, charge-sheet was laid for commission of offences under Section 120B/419/420/467/468/471 IPC. Accused Khagen Medhi was not sent up for lack of sufficient materials against him and also for the reasons that he died before the laying of charge-sheet.

5. After hearing both the sides, charges under Sections 120B/420 IPC were framed against the accused appellant to which he pleaded not guilty and claimed trial. Prosecution examined as many as 26 witnesses including the Investigating Police Officer. At the closure of prosecution evidence, all the incriminating materials, as required under Section 313 of Cr.PC, were put to the accused appellant. The accused appellant took a plea that he had signed on the KVPs as Anup Gupta as per the instruction of Mahima Ranjan Thakur and Govind Singh as they promised to give him some money. The accused appellant, however, denied having visited the post office. He also declined to adduce any defence evidence.

6. By the impugned judgment the learned trial Court found that appellant herein guilty for the offence under Section 420 IPC but having found no materials against accused Abdul Matlib and Basanti Debnath acquitted them of all the charges.

7. I have examined the trial Court’s record including the evidence led by the prosecution as well as the judgment put to challenge in this appeal.

8. Heard Mr. Indranil Choudhury,the learned Counsel for the appellant and also heard Mr. S.C. Keyal, learned Standing Counsel, CBI.

9. Admittedly, the KVPs of the series No. 46 CC840001 to 46 CC 1000000 of Rs 10,000 denominations each were lost/stolen during its transit in 1997-98. The evidence of PW 20, Sri Bacha Singh, establishes that during his posting as SSO cum Inspector, GRP, Patna, there was a pending investigation regarding theft of large number of KVPs from Patna Railway Station.

10. PW 14, Sri Madhab Mukherjee, who was then Asst Superintendent of Post, Baruipur, Kolkata, deposed that he had received a consignment of KVPs in a broken state at Howrah and he had received only 57,706 number of KVPs although 1,60,000 numbers of KVPs were sent from CSD, Nasik. The KVPs were kept in four numbers of boxes bearing No. 312, 313, 314 and 315. Out of the above boxes, box No 313 containing 40,000 KVPs could not be traced.

11. It is not even in dispute that the KVPs encashed in the present case were of stolen series and hence were not issued by any post office. The evidence of PW 23, Mr. Bhakti P