Deliberate submission of false information to secure employment constitutes the offence of cheating under section 420 of the Indian Penal Code.

JUDGMENT :

S.K. Sahoo, J.

The petitioner K.U. Rao Dora faced trial in the Court of learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bhubaneswar for offence punishable under section 420 of the Indian Penal Code in S.P.E. Case No.24 of 1989 on the accusations that during the year 1977-78 with an intention to cheat the Food Corporation of India, he submitted fake information with regard to his date of birth i.e. 25.05.1948 instead of 25.05.1940 to the Selection Committee for the post of Chief Labour Inspector in Food Corporation of India and thereby induced the authority to select him for the post of Chief Labour Inspector.

The learned Trial Court vide impugned judgment and order dated 20.12.1997 found the petitioner guilty under section 420 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced him to undergo R.I. for two and half years and to pay a fine of Rs.2,000/-(rupees two thousand), in default, to undergo R.I. for fifteen days more.

The petitioner preferred an appeal in the Court of Session which was heard by learned Sessions Judge, Khurda, Bhubaneswar in Criminal Appeal No.01 of 1998 who vide impugned judgment and order dated 30.07.1998 while upholding the impugned judgment and order of conviction under section 420 of the Indian Penal Code, reduced the substantive sentence to one year and the sentence of fine was reduced to fine of Rs.1,000/-(rupees one thousand) and in default of payment of fine, to undergo rigorous imprisonment for fifteen days, hence, the revision.

2. The prosecution case, in short, as per the First Information Report lodged by S.P. Pattnaik, Inspector in Charge of Police, C.B.I./S.P.E., Bhubaneswar is that the petitioner got appointment as Chief Labour Inspector in Food Corporation of India, Berhampur on 18.02.1978 by mentioning the date of birth as 25.05.1948 in the application and bio data form though his actual date of birth was 25.05.1940.

It is the further prosecution case as per the First Information Report that as per the recruitment rule of Food Corporation of India, age limit for the post of Chief Labour Inspector was twenty five years and as per the school records i.e. admission register of K.C. Town High School, Berhampur and K.C. Higher Secondary School, Berhampur from where the petitioner passed Class-IV and Secondary School Examination, his date of birth was recorded as 25.05.1940 which was also confirmed by the Board of Secondary Education, Cuttack and as such at the time of appointment, his age was thirty seven years eight months and twenty three days. The petitioner while submitting the application for the post and submitting his bio data mentioned his date of birth as on 25.05.1948 and thereby reduced his age by eight years only to make himself eligible for the appointment. He also secured the appointment as Chief Labour Inspector in the Food Corporation of India by reducing his date of birth even though he was not eligible for the post and thereby cheated the F.C.I. management.

On the basis of such report dated 30.05.1989, CBI/SPE/Bhubaneswar Case No. RC 24(S)/89 was registered under section 420 of the Indian Penal Code and Mr. S.P. Pattnaik took up investigation of the case.

3. During course of investigation, the Investigating Officer with the help of school, college and university records came to the opinion that the actual date of birth of the petitioner was 25.05.1940 and he was first admitted in K.C. Town High School, Berhampur in Class-IV in the year 1948-49 vide admission No.3493 wherein the date of birth has been mentioned as 25.05.1940 and thereafter he joined K.C. High School, Berhampur and studied there upto 1958 and took his T.C. on 14.12.1989 vide T.C. No.770 and in the T.C. also, the date of birth has been mentioned as 25.05.1940. The petitioner again applied for H.S.C. Examination in the year 1961 as a private candidate from that school and his Roll No. was 11143 and as per the record of Board of Secondary Education, Orissa, his date of birth was 25.05.1940. The petitioner passed in B. Sc. in