A person who is entrusted with property and who misappropriates that property for his own use is guilty of criminal breach of trust under Section 408 IPC.

1. - In the month of September, 1975 Radhey Shyam Sharma petitioner was posted as Assistant Area Organiser in the area office at Myajlar of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (for short, here in after 'the Commission'). On September 14. 1975, the petitioner made a report to the Incharge Police Out-post Myajlar that during the night intervening 13th and 14th September, 1975 there had been a theft of an iron safe and a gunny bag from the centre of the Commission at Myajlar. There was cash amount of Rs. 3,600/-, inside the iron safe. It was requested by the petitioner that the case may be investigated. The Police Out-post Myajlar was within the territorial jurisdiction of Police Station Sam in District Jaisalmer. While Guman Singh PW 9 was Incharge of the Police Out-post, Myajlar, Harkishan PW 7 was The Officer-Incharge of the Police Station, Sam. On that date, no Station House Officer was posted at Police Station, Sam Hari Kishan PW 7, who was only a Head Constable, was the Officer-in-charge. On September 16, 1975 Hari Kishan PW 7 had come to Jaisalmer in connection with some official duty At Jaisalmer, Raghunath Singh S.H.O., Police Station, Jaisalmer (PW 12) met Hari Kishan and told the latter that there had been a theft at Myajalar and the Superintendent of Police, Jaisalmer had directed him to proceed to Jaisalmer. Accordingly, both Raghunath Singh PW 12 and Harikishan came to Myajalar where Gumansingh, Officer-in-charge of the Police Out-post handed over the First Information Report Ex. P 7 which had been made as aforesaid by the petitioner to Hari Kishan on Sept 16, 1975 at 7.00 p m. Report Ex.P 7 was sent through Constable Ranidan Singh to the Police Station, Sam for registering a case under Section 380, I.P.C. and the case was registered on September 17, 1975 at 1.30 p m. at the Police Station. Both Raghunath Singh and Hari Kishan inspected the site of the office of the centre and prepared the site plan Ex. P 8 with Explanatory memorandum of the site Ex. P 2 on September 16, 1975. The petitioner Radhey Shyam Sharma was arrested on September 17, 1975 and a key No. 627521 of the stolen iron-safe was recovered from the left hand side pocket of the shirt of Radhey Shyam Sharma which was seized by the Police. Prosecution case is that the petitioner Radhey Shyam Sharma, while in custody of police, gave an information Ex P 9 on September 17, 1975 that the stolen iron safe was dropped in a well towards north of village Myajlar and the amount, which was inside the chest of the iron-safe, has been concealed in his suit case. In pursuance of this information, Raghunath and Hari Kishan recovered currency notes amounting to Rs. 1,700/- which were produced by the petitioner from out of the suit case in the residential portion of his house and the same were seized by the police under the seizure memo Ex. P 4 in the presence of Ladu Ram and Dheer Singh Motbirs Both the Police Officers went to the well pointed out by the petitioner. The well was about 140 feet in depth in which there was water about 15 feet depthwise. Bhanwar Singh s/o Bulidan was directed to go inside the well who found that a Godrej small sized iron-safe wrapped in a gunny bag and weighing about 20 kilograms was lying inside the well. The iron-safe with gunny-bag was taken out from the well and the same was identified by Dedasa s/o Kesrimal, an employee of the Commission, as belonging to the Commission. The iron-safe and the gunny bag was seized by the police under the seizure memo Ex. P 5 in the presence of Ladhu Ram and Dheer Singh Motbirs. A further information Ex P 10 is alleged to have been given by the petitioner on September 20, 1975 to Hari Kishan PW 7 that the remaining amount of Rs. 1,870.84p. were concealed in the 'niwar' of the cot of his house in an envelope. This amount was recovered from the place pointed out by the petitioner on September 21, 1975 in the presence of Najumal and Laxmi Chand Motbirs by Hari Kishan PW 7 and seized under t