Judgment

Panigrahi, C J

[1] The petitioner has been convicted under Section 409 , I. P. C. and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 6 months and to pay a fine of Rs. 500/-; in default to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a further period of one month. The petitioner was the clerk of the Industrial School at Sambalpur between January 1950 and August 1953 and in that capacity was In charge of the accounts and cash dealings of the institution.

The cash was kept in an iron chest and some loose money was kept in a separate hand box. The keys of both were in the custody of the petitioner. He used to make payments in accordance with payment orders made by the Superintendent in charge of the School. In 1952 the Superintendent (P. W. 1) checked the accounts and found certain irregularities including shortage of cash.

He reported the matter to the Director of Industries in his letter Ex. 6 dated 8-5-1952 and an explanation was taken from the petitioner on 2-7-1952. Ex. 7 is the explanation given by the petitioner on 8-7-1952 praying to be excused for the irregularity.

In April 1953, the Superintendent wanted to check the accounts again, but found that the cash book was not up-to-date.