Judgment

GAJENDRAGADKAR, J.: A criminal conspiracy to which according to the prosecution. M. G. Agarwal, M. K. Kulkarni and N. Laxminarayan hereafter called accused Nos. 1,. 2 and 3 respectively, were parties between December, 1954 and June, 1955 at Bombay has given rise to the criminal proceedings from which the two present appeals arise. At the relevant time, the three accused persons were attached to the office of the Income-tax Officer, Ward No. A-III in Greater Bombay. Accused No. 1 was designated as the First Income-tax Officer, and accused Nos. 2 and 3 worked under him as second and third Assessment Clerks respectively. The main charge against these persons was that during the relevant period, they had entered into a criminal conspiracy by agreeing to do or use to be done illegal acts by corrupt and illegal means and by abusing their position as public servants to obtain for themselves pecuniary advantage in the form of income-tax refund orders and this criminal object was achieved by issuing the said refund orders in the names of persons who either did not exist or were not assessees entitled to such refunds. The prosecution case was that after the said refund orders were th