B. K. BEHERA, J.

( 1 ) THE petitioner stood charged under Sections 408, 468 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code in G. R. Case Nos. 302 of 1975, 18 of 1977 and 17 of 1977 for having committed criminal breach of trust and forgery in respect of a sum of Rs. 204 out of Rs. 17,538 during the year 1971-72, Rs. 228 out of Rs. 18,351 during the year 1973-74 and Rs. 225 out of Rs. 19,275 during the year 1972-73 respectively which had been entrusted with him for disbursement as stipends payable to the children of the displaced goldsmiths by the Gold Control Department by falsely showing disbursements of the aforesaid amounts to Jagatjiban Prusty, who was a student of the Christ Collegiate School, of which the petitioner was the Headmaster, from 14-7-1967 to 30-6- 1969 having been admitted into class VI and who had left the school by obtaining a transfer certificate on 30-6-1969, by forging the signature of Jagatjiban Prusty and for having utilised as genuine the purported signatures of this showing disbursements of the aforesaid amounts. To bring home the charges to the petitioner, the prosecution had examined fifteen identical witnesses with the same serial numbers in each of the three cases