THE HONOURABLE SMT. JUSTICE JUVVADI SRIDEVI CRIMINAL PETITION No.3357 OF 2022

O R D E R

This Criminal Petition is filed by the petitioner-accused No.5 seeking to quash the proceedings against him in C.C.No.1065 of 2021 on the file of learned Judicial First Class Magistrate, Bhadrachalam, Bhadradri Kothagudem, registered for the offences under Sections 409, 465, 468, 471, 109 of the Indian Penal Code (for short ‘IPC’).

02. Heard Sri Srinivasa Rao Madiraju, learned counsel for the petitioner-accused No.5 and Smt.S.Madhavi, learned Assistant Public Prosecutor for the State-respondent No.1. No representation on behalf of the respondent No.2. Perused the record.

03(a). Brief facts of the case are that: The complainant is working as a Regional Coordinator in Telangana Tribal Welfare Residential Degree College (TTWRDC), erstwhile Khammam District. Accused No.1 is working as a Superintendent; the accused No.2 is the wife of the accused No.1; the accused No.3 is a friend of the accused No.1; the accused No.4 is a Data Entry Operator; the petitioner-accused No.5 is the Principal; and the accused No.6 is the Administrative Officer at TTWRDC (M), Manuguru.

03(b). It is alleged that the accused Nos.1 and 4 misappropriated the funds of TTWRDC (M), Manuguru, and the accused Nos.2 and 3 were the illegal beneficiaries of the misappropriated amounts. Based on the preliminary report submitted by the complainant/respondent No.2, a Special Enquiry Committee was constituted, which submitted a detailed report. Further, it is alleged that upon careful examination of the reports, the Secretary, TTWREIS, Hyderabad, placed the accused Nos.1, 5 and 6 under suspension for misappropriation of Government funds, gross negligence of primary duties as Drawing and Disbursing Officer (DDO), and for their failure to supervise the institution’s accounts and prevent the said misappropriation, which amounted to Rs.29,11,043/-.

03(c). It is further alleged that the accused No.1 claimed ineligible HRA and pay to the tune of Rs.1,02,764/- and an amount of Rs.23,90,107/-, meant for the accused No.4 (a terminated employee) for the period from November 2018 to April 2020, was diverted into accounts of persons related to the accused Nos.1 and 4. The accused Nos.5 and 6 signed physical cheques and bank consent letters for the said amount. Salary was wrongly claimed for one Smt.N.Anusha, who was on Extra Ordinary Leave (EOL) from 18.01.2020 to 30.04.2020, amounting to Rs.1,63,940/-. Excess employer contribution was also credited to the PRAN account of an individual. Thus, out of the total misappropriated amount of Rs.29,11,043/-, an amount of Rs.28,68,687/- was recovered from the accused No.1 and an amount of Rs.42,356/- was recovered from the accused No.4. Hence, the accused Nos.1 to 6 committed the above-mentioned offences.

04(a). Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner-accused No.5, being the senior-most Lecturer, was given charge of the Principal post of the College on 04.04.2018. By virtue of holding the post of Principal, he also functioned as the DDO of the institution. It is further submitted that, as per the established procedure, the Lower Division Clerk (LDC) normally prepares the bills online, which are then forwarded to the Superintendent for scrutiny. Subsequently, the bills are sent to the Administrative Officer for verification, and finally, they are forwarded to the Principal for signature. The accused No.1, who was working as the Superintendent, had access to the system through a designated user ID and password, which had been in his possession and use for a long time. Using these credentials, the accused No.1 would process and submit the salary bills online to the Head Office. In many instances, the online system did not require the physical or digital signature of the Principal. It is further contended that whenever a signature was needed, the accused No.1 used to forge the petitioner’s i.e. accused No.5 signature without his knowledge