Delhi District Court
State vs : Krishan & Anr. on 19 August, 2016
IN THE COURT OF SH. SUDHANSHU KAUSHIK : ACMM-01 :
CENTRAL DISTRICT : TIS HAZARI COURTS : DELHI
State Vs : Krishan & Anr.
FIR No. : 94/2001
U/s : 420/467/468/471/120B IPC
PS : I.P.Estate
Date of Institution: 14.09.2004
Date of Judgment reserved on: 03.08.2016
Date of Judgment: 19.08.2016
Brief details of the case
A. Sl. No. of the case 292285/2016
B. Offence complained of
or proved U/s 420/468/471/120B IPC
C. Date of Offence Before 12.11.1984
D. Name of the complainant Mukesh Kumar Meena
Dy. Commissioner of Police,
Vigilance, Delhi
E. Name of the accused (1) Krishan
S/o Prabhu Dayal
R/o H.No.480/2, Om Nagar,
Gurgaon (Haryana)
(2) Prabhu Dayal
S/o Shibba Ram
R/o H.No.480/2, Om Nagar,
Gurgaon (Haryana)
F. Plea of the accused Pleaded not guilty
G. Final order Accused Prabhu Dayal acquitted
Accused Krishan convicted U/s 420 IPC
H. Date of Order 19.08.2016
FIR No.94/2001 State Vs Krishan & Anr. Page 1 of 18
Judgment
On the accusation of hatching a criminal conspiracy to secure the job
of a constable in Delhi Police on the basis of a forged matriculation certificate
and submitting the said certificate at the time of recruitment, accused Krishan, his
brother Bal Krishan (proclaimed offender) and father Prabhu Dayal were sent up
to face trial for committing offences punishable under Section 420/468/471 IPC
read with Section 120B IPC.
Brief Facts as disclosed in the charge-sheet
2. It all triggered from a note forwarded by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to the Commissioner of Police. It is the case of prosecution that Prabhu Dayal was serving as an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) in Delhi Police (hereinafter referred to as 'the department'). On 12.11.1984, his son Krishan Kumar joined as constable in Delhi Police and subsequently, on 01.09.1986, his younger son Bal Krishan also managed to secure the post of a constable. It has been alleged that at the time of recruitment, Krishan Kumar submitted a forged matriculation certificate. He forged the matriculation certificate of his brother Bal Krishan by erasing the word 'Bal' from it and adding 'Kumar' after 'Krishan'. Allegations against Prabhu Dayal are that he played active role in the conspiracy by executing an agreement with the department wherein he stood surety for his son. Earlier, Registrar, Supreme Court of India ordered FIR No.94/2001 State Vs Krishan & Anr. Page 2 of 18 registration of a criminal case against Constable Bal Krishan after finding that a forged custody certificate was furnished by him in the court. Constable Bal Krishan was convicted in case bearing FIR No.453/1985 registered under Section 363/366/376 IPC at Police Station Gurgaon (Haryana). The appeal preferred by him against conviction was dismissed and the forged custody certificate came to light during hearing of Special Leave Petition (SLP). On the directions of Registrar, case bearing RC-9(S)/97-SCB-1/DLI was registered by CBI and during investigation of this case, the forgery committed by his brother Constable Krishan Kumar was also revealed and it was found that all the accused conspired to commit forgery. On the note of CBI, vigilance inquiry was conducted by Mukesh Kumar Meena (PW-1), Deputy Commissioner of Police and recommendation for further action was made. In the said background, present FIR bearing number 94/2001 under Section 420/468/471 IPC read with Section 120B IPC was registered at Police Station I.P.Estate.
3. The prosecution's case proceeds further that SI Arvind Kumar (PW-
13) carried out initial investigation and seized the copy of matriculation certificate in the name of Krishan Kumar but by that time, Constable Bal Krishan managed to withdraw his matriculation certificate from the record. SI Devraj Singh (PW-
20) carried out further investigation and obtained the certified copies of educational certificates of Constable Krishan Kumar from the department and FIR No.94/2001 State Vs Krishan & Anr. Page 3 of 18 made inquiries from the office of Haryana Educational Board, Bhiwani. It is the prosecution's case that for building his defence, Constable Krishan Kumar secured a duplicate matriculation certificate from Haryana Educational Board, Bhiwani wherein it was mentioned that he cleared the matriculation examination of 1981 against Roll No.719617. Investigation revealed that the gazette register containing result of the year 1981 was manipulated and the duplicate certificate was issued on the basis of said manipulated gazette. The manipulation came to light when the copy of gazette kept at the library was compared with the one on the basis of which duplicate certificate was issued. In the manipulated gazette, the name of Constable Krishan Kumar was found in place of his brother Constable Bal Krishan with other details including the roll number and date of birth remained unaltered. Investigation further revealed that, in both the certificates, the date of birth of Constable Krishan Kumar as well as Constable Bal Krishan was mentioned as 27.04.1964 whereas there was a considerable age gap between the brothers. Both the gazette registers were seized and sent for comparison to the Forensic Lab which confirmed the manipulation. Evidently, the gazette was forged with the connivance of employees of the board but the conniving employees could not be identified. Krishan Chand Satija (PW-2), Principal of DAV High School, Khandsa Road, Gurgaon disclosed that in the year 1980, Constable Bal Krishan passed matriculation examination from the school against FIR No.94/2001 State Vs Krishan & Anr. Page 4 of 18 Roll No.719617. The attendance register of class 10 th Section-D from the school where Constable Bal Krishan studied and passed matriculation examination was seized and it was found that Constable Krishan Kumar never studied in this school. Principal of the school further disclosed that the application for obtaining duplicate matriculation certificate was not forwarded by the school and it was bearing forged signatures and forged stamp of the Head Master. Report from Forensic Lab confirmed that Constable Krishan Kumar wrote the application for issuance of duplicate certificate. The surety-bonds submitted by Constable Bal Krishan and his brother Constable Krishan Kumar and other relevant documents were seized. Forensic Lab further confirmed that the surety-bond of Krishan Kumar was filled by Prabhu Dayal. Statements of witnesses were recorded and after completion of investigation, charge-sheet was put to the court.
4. Copies of the charge-sheet were supplied to the accused and charges under Section 120B IPC, Section 420 IPC read with Section 120B IPC and Section 468/471 IPC were framed against both the accused to which they pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.
Prosecution Witnesses
5. Twenty-three prosecution witnesses were examined. Witnesses from department PW-1 Mukesh Kumar Meena (Addl. Commissioner of Police) stated FIR No.94/2001 State Vs Krishan & Anr. Page 5 of 18 that on the note received from CBI, a vigilance inquiry was conducted against the accused persons. On his complaint (Ex.PW-1/A), present FIR was registered.
PW-9 SI Ashok Kumar (HACR Branch of Delhi Police) produced the recruitment record of Krishan Kumar.
PW-11 ASI Prakash Chand (Vigilance Branch, Delhi Police) produced a self contained note and inquiry report of Constable Bal Krishan. He stated that the original record of Vigilance inquiry conducted against constable Bal Krishan was destroyed after seeking the requisite approval.
PW-14 ASI Jai Bhagwan (Police official from HACR Branch) stated that the character roll of Krishan Kumar was checked and attested copy of the photocopy of matriculation certificate of Krishan Kumar was handed over to SI Ajay Kumar.
PW-23 SI Om Prakash (Official who produced record of Bal Krishan from the department) produced record from the department and stated that on the application of Bal Krishan, original documents submitted by him at the time of recruitment were returned to him.
Witnesses from School/Board PW-2 Krishan Chand Satija (Principal, DAV Public School) stated that after going through the official record, he issued the certificate of Bal Krishan.
FIR No.94/2001 State Vs Krishan & Anr. Page 6 of 18
PW-3 Rajesh Kumar (Assistant, Haryana Eduction Board, Bhiwani) mentioned that on the application of Constable Krishan Kumar, a duplicate matriculation certificate was issued to him. He turned hostile and denied having made statement to the police that there was discrepancy between the gazette kept at the library and the one on the basis of which duplicate certificate was issued.
PW-4 Ishwar Singh (Assistant, Haryana Eduction Board, Bhiwani) also turned hostile and stated that he can not tell whether manipulation was found in the gazette containing matriculation result for the year 1981.
PW-5 O.P. Khurana (Assistant, Secretary, Haryana, Eduction Board, Bhiwani) produced the original gazette of the matriculation result for the year, 1981. It was found that at entry number 473, against roll no. 719617, the name of Bal Krishan was mentioned in the gazette. The copy of the gazette is Ex. PW- 5/A. PW-6 Sukhbir Singh Yadav (Assistant, Secretary, Harayana, Eduction Board, Bhiwani) turned hostile and did not support the prosecution case.
PW-7 Ved Prakash Rana (Assistant in the matriculation branch Harayana, Eductional Board, Bhiwani) mentioned about a correspondence made with the CBI in 1998. He stated that somewhere in 1998, a letter was received from the CBI for verification of the particulars of Bal Krishan. He mentioned that records were verified and it was found that Bal Krishan appeared in the FIR No.94/2001 State Vs Krishan & Anr. Page 7 of 18 examination against roll no. 719617. He mentioned that after verification, letter Ex. PW-5/C was sent to CBI.
PW-8 HC Ranbir Singh (Police official from Police Station Gurgaon City Haryana) stated that he handed over the copy of the FIR no. 453/85 registered against Bal Krishan to the investigating officer of the present case. Investigating Officers PW-13 SI Arvind Kumar (First Investigating Officer) stated that he seized the duplicate matriculation certificate of Krishan Kumar and sent it for verification but in the meantime, he was transferred from the concerned police station. The letter written by him to the Assistant Secretary, Haryana Educational Board, Bhiwani for verification of duplicate certificate of Krishan Kumar is Ex.13/A and the report received is Ex.PW-13/B. PW-15 Insp. Rajender Singh (Fifth Investigating Officer) mentioned that he made efforts to trace Bal Krishan but no clue was found.
PW-16 Insp. Manoj Kumar (Third Investigating Officer) justified the investigation carried out by him. He stated that discrepancy was found between the gazette registers kept at the certificate branch and library of the Board. He mentioned that both the registers were seized and sent for comparison to GEQD, Shimla.
FIR No.94/2001 State Vs Krishan & Anr. Page 8 of 18
PW-18 Insp. Ajay Kumar (Sixth Investigating Officer) stated that he collected the draft application form filled by Krishan Kumar at the time of applying for duplicate matriculation certificate.
PW-20 Insp. Dev Raj (Second Investigating Officer) stated that he made inquiries from the Secretary of the Board to ascertain whether Krishan Kumar passed matriculation examination in the year 1981. He mentioned about the reports submitted by the Board and stated that the inquiry revealed that Krishan Kumar passed matriculation examination in the said year.
PW-22 Insp. Sudhir Singh (Fourth Investigating Officer) stated about arrest of Krishan Kumar and Prabhu Dayal. He mentioned that he took specimen signatures of Krishan Kumar.
Witnesses of Investigation PW-10 HC Yogesh Kumar (Police officials who deposited the certificate with the Board) stated that on the directions of investigating officer, he deposited the certificate of Krishan Kumar at Haryana Education Board, Bhiwani.
PW-12 Ct. Jitender (Police official in whose presence the duplicate matriculation certificate was seized) stated that Krishan Kumar produced the matriculation certificate and it was seized by the investigating officer. FIR No.94/2001 State Vs Krishan & Anr. Page 9 of 18
PW-17 HC Surender Rathi (Witness of arrest) stated that accused Krishan Kumar was arrested vide arrest memo Ex.PW-17/A. He mentioned that specimen handwriting of Krishan Kumar was obtained in his presence.
PW-21 SI Madhu Sharma (Duty Officer) mentioned that the present FIR was registered on the basis of the letter received from DCP (Vigilance). The FIR is Ex.PW-21/A. Government Examiner/Expert Witness PW-19 Mahinder Singh (Retired GEQD, Shimla) supported the contents of his report. Finding was given by him that the handwriting of Krishan Kumar was found on the application form for obtaining duplicate matriculation certificate. He also mentioned about the discrepancy found in the gazette registers.
Statement of Accused
6. Separate statements of Krishan Kumar and Prabhu Dayal were recorded under Section 313 Cr.P.C wherein they denied all the incriminating evidence. Krishan Kumar admitted that matriculation certificate was submitted with the department but denied having submitted forged certificate. He affirmed that he appeared and passed the matriculation examination. Prabhu Dayal also mentioned that the matriculation certificate was genuine. No defence witness was examined.
FIR No.94/2001 State Vs Krishan & Anr. Page 10 of 18
Arguments
7. I have heard Ld. APP for State as well as Ld. Defence Counsel and carefully gone through the entire material available on record.
8. Ld. Defence Counsel has argued that prosecution has failed to establish its case. He contended that there is no evidence to establish that the matriculation certificate submitted by Krishan Kumar was forged. He argued that the original matriculation certificate of Krishan Kumar was not seized and therefore, the charge of forgery has not been established. It has been argued by the defence that in the absence of original certificate, the charge of forgery and the charge of using the forged documents as genuine can not be sustained. Counsel mentioned that the name of Krishan Kumar appeared in the result published in the gazette of the relevant year and this goes on to show that the matriculation certificate was genuine. He argued that there is no evidence to establish the charge of criminal conspiracy. Counsel contended that material witnesses have turned hostile and the testimony of remaining witnesses is not reliable. He mentioned that Krishan Kumar applied for a duplicate certificate and on his application, the duplicate certificate was issued by Haryana Education Board. It has been argued by defence that since the duplicate certificate containing the same particulars was issued by Haryana Eduction Board, therefore, the question of cheating and furnishing forged certificate does not arise. In respect FIR No.94/2001 State Vs Krishan & Anr. Page 11 of 18 of Prabhu Dayal, it was argued by the counsel that since the main offences of cheating and forgery have not been proved, therefore, the charge of entering into criminal conspiracy to commit these offences also goes.
9. Ld. APP has countered the arguments of defence arguing that the prosecution's case stands proved beyond reasonable doubt. He argued that there is ample evidence to show that the gazette was manipulated to insert the name of Krishan Kumar in place of his brother Bal Krishan. He mentioned that the report of the Government Examiner leaves no scope for doubt that the gazette was manipulated to include the name of Krishan Kumar. It was argued by him that although, the investigating agency failed to nail down the officials under whose custody the gazette was kept but this failure does not give any advantage to the accused. He mentioned that Krishan Kumar was beneficiary of the manipulation done in the gazette and this fact points towards his complicity. He argued that in case of criminal conspiracy, the possibility of bring direct evidence is remote and therefore, the circumstances gain significance. He mentioned that the manner in which Krishan Kumar and Prabhu Dayal acted goes on to show that there was meeting of minds and they were working towards common goal of securing job in the department on the basis of forged matriculation certificate.
Brief reasons for decision
10. I have perused the record in the light of respective arguments. FIR No.94/2001 State Vs Krishan & Anr. Page 12 of 18
11. On appreciating the record, I find that the following statement of witnesses and documents clinchingly establishes that Krishan Kumar furnished a forged matriculation certificate in the department;
Statement of witnesses/documents
(i) PW-5 O.P.Khurana, Principal of DAV High School, Gurgaon (Haryana).
(ii) PW-7 Ved Prakash Rana, Clerk, Haryana Education Board.
(ii) PW-16 Insp. Manoj Kumar, Investigating Officer.
(iv) PW-19 Mahinder Singh, Government Examiner. Documents (v) Application 29.01.2010 (Mark-X1) for obtaining duplicate
matriculation certificate. The application is in the handwriting of Krishan Kumar.
(vi) Agreement/Bond dated 31.05.1984 given by Prabhu Dayal (Mark-
X2).
(vii) Reports dated 30.09.2002 (Ex.PW-19/A) of Government Examiner wherein finding was given that manipulation was found in the gazette
(viii) Report dated 31.05.2004 (Ex.PW-19/B) of Government Examiner wherein finding was given that the application form for obtaining duplicate certificate dated 29.01.2001 was filled by Krishan Kumar and the bond dated 31.05.1984 was filled by Prabhu Dayal.
(ix) Communication dated 20.08.1998 (Ex.PW-5/C) sent by Haryana Education Board to K.S.Joshi, the then DSP, CBI.
12. The statement of witnesses has to be read in the light of documents. O.P.Khurana (PW-5) produced the original gazette of the result of matriculation examination conducted by Haryana Education Board for the year 1981. On perusing this gazette (Ex.PW-5/A), it is found that the name of Bal Krishan was mentioned on page No.473 against roll number 719617 and his date of birth was FIR No.94/2001 State Vs Krishan & Anr. Page 13 of 18 mentioned as 27.04.1964. Ved Prakash Rana (PW-7) stated about a communication that took place between Haryana Education Board and CBI. He stated that in the year 1998, while he was working as Clerk, a letter was received from the CBI for verification of particulars of Bal Krishan. He mentioned that after verifying the particulars of Bal Krishan, reply was forwarded to the CBI. In this reply dated 20.08.1998 (Ex.PW-5/C), the department gave information to the CBI that after verifying the records as per the gazette, the name of Bal Krishan was found at page No.473 against roll number 719617 with date of birth 27.04.1964 and 380 marks. The testimony of these witnesses leaves no scope for doubt that till the year 1998, the name of Bal Krishan figured in the gazette. It has come on record that CBI had initiated inquiry against Bal Krishan and investigation was going on. It was perhaps in furtherance of this investigation that the communication (Ex.PW-5/C) took place between CBI and Haryana Education Board. The communication made in terms of document Ex.PW-5/C is more than 12 years old and it was produced from proper custody. Reliance can be safely placed upon such a document.
13. The report of Government Examiner throws light on the manner in which the manipulation was done in the gazette. It is the case of prosecution that manipulation was done in the gazette kept at the Board and accused managed to get duplicate certificate on the basis of the manipulated gazette. The manipulation FIR No.94/2001 State Vs Krishan & Anr. Page 14 of 18 was revealed when the copy of the gazette kept at the library was compared with the one on the basis of which duplicate certificate was issued. Insp. Manoj Kumar (PW-16) mentioned that discrepancy was found in the gazette kept at the certificate branch when the same was compared with the one kept at the library of the Board. He stated that he seized both the gazette notification registers and sent them for comparison to GEQD, Shimla. The registers are Ex.PW-16/H & I. The report given by the Government Examiner after comparing these registers is Ex.PW-19/A. This report shows the manner in which the manipulation was done in the register. After analyzing both the registers, the expert Mahinder Singh (PW-19) gave the following report;
"(i) The quality of printing of the sheet marked X1 & X2 is comparatively poor.
(ii) The name of the candidate reading as 'Krishan Kumar' against Roll No.719617 on the sheet marked X1 appears to be darker and distinct, which is contrary to the rest of the printing on this page.
(iii) There are marks of adhesive on both sides of the sheet marked X1 and X2 indicating that this sheet has been pasted in between the preceding and the succeeding sheets, which is also contrary to the condition of rest of the sheets in this register marked R1.
(iv) The ultraviolet fluorescence of paper comprising the sheet marked X1 and X2 is different from that of the preceding and succeeding sheets of this register marked R1.
(v) The relative alignment of the top left part of the sheet marked X1 is found inconsistent with that of the preceding and succeeding sheets of the register marked R1.
(vi) The name of the candidate against Roll No.719617 on the sheet marked X1 in the register marked R1 is different from that of the sheet marked Y1 in the register marked RII.
(vii) The nature & location of finish of the three horizontal lines appearing on top of the sheet marked X2 in the register marked R1 is different FIR No.94/2001 State Vs Krishan & Anr. Page 15 of 18 from that of the sheet marked Y2 in the register marked RII.
(viii) There are extraneous printing marks on the sheet marked X2 in the register marked R1, which are nowhere found on the sheet marked Y2 in the register marked RII.
The collective consideration of the aforesaid anachronistic features indicate that the sheet marked X1 & X2 of the register marked R1 was not printed in the same process in which the sheet marked Y1 & Y2 of the register marked RII was printed and the sheet marked X1 & X2 of the register marked R1 is not original one, which was substituted in this register subsequently."
14. I have perused and compared both the gazette notification registers. The expert has given a reasoned finding which finds support from the record. There are glaring variations in both the gazette registers which are of the same year. Not only there are printing variations but even the marks of adhesive are visible in the gazette in which the name of Krishan Kumar figured in place of his brother Bal Krishan. This goes on to show that in a very clever manner, the gazette was manipulated by changing the name of Bal Krishan to Krishan Kumar. The earlier correspondence made in the year 1998 goes on to show that the name of Bal Krishan was mentioned in the gazette but subsequently, the gazette was manipulated and instead of Bal Krishan, the name of Krishan Kumar was inserted on a separate sheet with other particulars remaining same. I have no hesitation in holding that manipulation was done in the gazette notification register. The manipulation in the official gazette was not possible without the complicity of officials under whose custody the gazette notification register was kept. It is true that none of the officials have been nailed down but this, in itself, FIR No.94/2001 State Vs Krishan & Anr. Page 16 of 18 does not absolve the accused. There is cogent evidence to demonstrate that manipulation was done in the gazette notification register and accused Krishan Kumar was beneficiary of the manipulation.
15. One of the main line of argument of defence has been that the original matriculation certificate which was allegedly forged by the accused persons was not recovered. Ld. Defence Counsel has argued that in the absence of original matriculation certificate the accused can not be convicted. I am not impressed with this arguments. Although, the matriculation certificate was not traceable but the fact that Krishan Kumar himself furnished same details in the application for obtaining duplicate certificate goes on to show that he relied on the details mentioned in the manipulated gazette. The details furnished in the application shows that Krishan Kumar represented that he passed the matriculation examination in the year 1981 against Roll No.719617 by scoring 380 marks from Haryana Educational Board. This representation was based on forged gazette notification register. Thus, it can be safely concluded that the matriculation certificate furnished by Krishan Kumar contained same details. It is evident that Krishan Kumar did make a false representation to the department. The department relied upon the representation and selected him. Even though, the evidence fall short of recording conviction for the offence of committing forgery and using the forged document as genuine but there is overwhelming FIR No.94/2001 State Vs Krishan & Anr. Page 17 of 18 evidence to establish beyond reasonable doubt that accused committing the offence of cheating. There is no evidence to pin-point the other culprits who must have facilitated the manipulation but there is evidence to suggest that the manipulation was done at the instance of Krishan Kumar.
16. In view of the discussions made in the afore-stated paras, I have reached a conclusion that the charge of cheating stands established against Krishan Kumar. However, there is no evidence to show the complicity of Prabhu Dayal. The only allegation against him was that at the time of appointment, he furnished a bond for his son. No evidence was tendered during trial to show his involvement. It would be grossly incorrect to presume the involvement of Prabhu Dayal merely because he is the father of Krishan Kumar. Hence, accused Prabhu Dayal is acquitted while accused Krishan Kumar stands convicted for committing offence punishable under Section 420 IPC.
17. Be heard separately on the point of sentence.
Announced in open Court (SUDHANSHU KAUSHIK)
on 19.08.2016 ACMM-01, Central District,
Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi
It is certified that this judgment contains Eighteen (18) pages and each page bears my signatures.
(SUDHANSHU KAUSHIK) ACMM-01, Central District, Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi FIR No.94/2001 State Vs Krishan & Anr. Page 18 of 18