Departmental exoneration does not negate criminal liability; discharge pleas cannot be raised post-charge framing.

COMMON ORDER

Prologue:

These three Criminal Revision Petitions, viz., Crl.R.C.(MD) Nos. 18 to 20 of 2023, arise from a common First Information Report in Crime No. 1 of 2017, registered by the CCIW-CID Police, Tirunelveli, pursuant to an enquiry conducted under Section 81 of the Tamil Nadu Co- operative Societies Act, 1983, by Mr. Tamilarasu, Enquiry Officer appointed by the Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies.

2. The petitioner, Mr. Xavier Raj, then serving as Clerk of the Kolvel Primary Agricultural Co-operative Credit Society, stands charged for alleged irregularities committed during three accounting periods:

3. In all three charge-sheets, the petitioner is alleged to have committed offences under Sections 408, 467, 468, 471 and 477-A read with Section 34 IPC. The Joint Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Kanyakumari Zone, Nagercoil, while exercising revisional powers under Section 153 of the Tamil Nadu co-operative Societies Act, 1983, passed an order dated 27.07.2018 fully exonerating the petitioner. Nevertheless, the CCIW-CID Police proceeded with criminal prosecution. Hence, the petitioner filed the discharge petitions under Section 239 Cr.P.C., 1973, before the the learned Judicial Magistrate No. II (CCIW- Special Court), Tirunelveli. However, the same were dismissed by the learned Judicial Magistrate No. II (CCIW-Special Court), Tirunelveli. Challenging the same, the present Criminal Revision Petitions came to be filed.

4. Gist of the learned Trial Court Orders:

The learned Judicial Magistrate, by separate but identical orders in C.C. Nos. 2, 3 and 4 of 2017, held that Section 81 enquiry and Section 153 of he Tamil Nadu co-operative Societies Act, 1983, held that exoneration are departmental in character. The criminal charges rest on independent penal liability. The prima facie materials exist justifying continuation of trial and that departmental exoneration cannot by itself warrant discharge. Accordingly, all three petitions for discharge were dismissed.

5. The petitioner has, therefore, directly invoked the revisional jurisdiction of this Court.

5.1. Common Grounds of Revision:

Across all three revisions, the petitioner has urged a unified and consistent challenge to the impugned dismissal orders. It is contended that the very substratum of the criminal prosecution in C.C. Nos. 2, 3 and 4 of 2017 arises exclusively from the enquiry conducted under Section 81 of the Tamil Nadu Co-operative Societies Act, 1983, and that the charges in the criminal cases are verbatim and intrinsically identical to those levelled in the disciplinary domain. The petitioner places strong reliance on the revisional order dated 27.07.2017 passed by the Joint Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Kanyakumari Zone, Nagercoil, under Section 153 of the Act, wherein, upon a detailed appreciation of records, documents, and evidences, the petitioner was fully, completely and honourably exonerated of all the allegations. It is further submitted that such exoneration has attained judicial finality by virtue of the order of this Court in W.P.(MD) No.18574 of 2018 dated 11.04.2022, wherein this Court has categorically recorded that the misappropriation stood admitted and repaid by the then Secretary