Hon'ble Judges/Coram:
G.B. Pattanaik and S. Rajendra Babu

ORDER

G.B. Pattanaik, J.

1. The State of Kerala is in appeal against the Judgment dated 4.2.94 of the Kerala High Court in Criminal Revision Petition No. 521 of 1988. By the impugned Judgment, the High Court in revision, has interfered with the conviction and sentence passed against the accused respondent of the offences under Sections 408, 468 and 477A of the Indian Penal Code.

2. The accused-respondent was an employee of Western India Plywoods and was head of the purchase section. In course of his duties, he was supposed to send empty barrels to the suppliers for getting the chemical Formaldehyde. The prosecution alleged that in the process of sending such empty barrels to the suppliers for the purpose of getting refilled Formaldehyde between the period 10.10.74 to 25.6.75, the accused-respondent manipulated the official records and documents and sold 660 empty barrels, the value of which was Rs. 69,300/- and himself appropriated the same, thereby committed offence under Section 408, 468 and 477A of the Indian Penal Code. The prosecution examined as many as 24 witnesses and exhibited 96 documents. On a thorough consideration of the evidence on record, both oral and documentary, the learned Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Cannanore, came to the conclusion that the accused while working as head of the purchase section of the Western India Plywoods, took the empty barrels concerned from the factory and diverted the same to a destination of his own choice and disposed of the same according to his own convenience and mis-appropriated the entire sale proceeds thereof. The Magistrate also recorded a clear finding that the accused falsified the documents Exhibits P-2(a), P-2(b) and P-3(a), the gate passes by furnishing false information in the same and also forged the railway receipts by affixing the seal of the Western India Plywoods and putting his signature on the railway receipts on behalf of the company and thereby the charges against the accused have been established beyond reasonable doubt. For his conviction under Sections 408 and 468, the accused was sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for five months each and to pay a fine of Rs. 1000/- each, in default S.I. for one month each under each count and for offence under Section 477A, he was sentenced to pay a fine of Rs. 1000/-, in default, S.I. for two months. Sentences were directed to run concurrently. On appeal being carried, the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Tellicherry, re-appraised the entire evidence, oral and documentary and affirmed the conclusion of the learned Magistrate and upheld the conviction and sentence passed by the Magistrate. On a revision being filed by the accused, the High Court by the impugned Judgment interfered with the conviction and sentence and came to hold that the prosecution has failed to estab........