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Article - II Shri M.K. Sharma while working as SPM Shamshabad SO Agra committed a grave misconduct as he discharged KVP No.15CC 950482 to 950485 Deno. Rs.10000/- worth Rs.69200/- (40000 + 29200) but he failed to submit the paid voucher along with KVP discharge journal of the said denomination in lieu of such payment and also to note the Regn. No. in the said Journal and thus violated the provisions of rule-31 of PO SB Man. Vol. II. By doing so, the said Shri M.K. Sharma also failed to maintain absolute integrity, devotion to duty and acted in a manner which is an unbecoming of a Govt. servant as required under rule -3(i), (ii) & (iii) of CCS (Conduct) rules - 1964.

(ii) a perusal of discharge journal Ex.Ka-5 shows that the payment in respect of KVP's in question was made on the basis of transfer application received from another post office but no such application was found available in Post Office Shamshabad;

(iii) internal enquiry revealed that the KVP's in question were fake;

(iv) evidence adduced by the prosecution establishes that paid vouchers in respect of discharge journal Ex.Ka-5 were not received at Head Office, Agra and that paid vouchers in respect of discharge journals Ex.Ka-3 and Ex.Ka-4 received at Head Office, Agra were not sealed, which facts when coupled with the circumstance that it is the duty of Sub-Post Master to submit vouchers to Head Office and the admission of the petitioner that he had closed the account bag of Post Office Shamshabad on 29.05.2000 is indicative of the guilt of the petitioner; the fact that office of registration or original registrations number(s) of KVP's in question was not recorded in the discharge journals Ex.Ka-3, Ex.Ka-4 and Ex.Ka-5 when coupled with the circumstance that it is the duty of the Sub-Post Master to maintain accounts is indicative of the guilt of the petitioner and the conduct of the petitioner in giving evasive replies to the inquiries pertaining to non-

―The evidence on record shows that account bag was closed by the charged official on 29-05-2000 and all the paid vouchers of KVP's worth Rs.85200/- were stated to have been sent by him with SO daily account duly entered thereon. The payment of discharged KVP's as exhibited in Exh.Ka-3, Ka-4 and Ka-5 was affirmed by the charged official to have been made by Shri Bhagwati Prasad Sharma SW-18 but this fact is not confirmed from hand to hand receipt book, Exh. Ka-11. Shri Bhagwati Prasad Sharma has stated that Exh.Ka-3, Ka-4 and Ka-5 were prepared by the charged official and payment was also effected by him as nobody came to his SB counter on 29-05-2000 for encashment of KVPS while the charged official has categorically denied to have prepared the Exh.Ka-3, Ka-4 and Ka-5 on 29-05-2000. He also added that he cannot explain as to who prepared these documents but these unauthorized exhibits have been accepted by the charged official as genuine and amount represented in them as been incorporated into account of the day while preparing rough account Exh. Ka-9. SO account Ex. Ka-7 on 29-05-2000 and submission their of along with paid KVP vouchers worth Rs.85200/- with SO daily account duly entered into it. The initials of the charged official on Exh.Ka-3, Ka-4 and Ka-5 are also appearing on them and these resemble with those affixed on the charge report dated 31-05-2000 at left hand upper corner on the designation stamp of SPM (L.S.G.) Shamsabad. These charge report has been made an extra additional document with his defence statement dated 23-02-2005, now a part and parcel document of the enquiry. On comparison the handwriting of charge report dated 32-05-2000 with those appearing on KVP discharged journal Exh.Ka- 3, Ka-4 and Ka-5, it is evident that handwriting exactly resemble on both the documents. Thus a man of ordinary prudence shall presume that Exh.Ka-3, Ka-4 and Ka-5 were prepared by a person who prepared the charge report. Hence there is a clear presumption that Exh.Ka-3, Ka-4 and Ka-5 were prepared by the charged official on 29-05- 2000....The evidence on record shows that Shri Bhagwati Prasad Sharma SW-18 was LRPA. As per his deposition he did only those work which were entrusted to him by the SPM. The memo of distribution of work Exh. Ka-2 was not shown to him by the charged official during the period he worked at Shamsabad PO from 19-04-2000 to 31-05-2000. On 29-05-2000 he did only SB/RD work as there was heavy work with him. The work relating to KVP/NSC as done by SPM himself. As regard Exh. Ka-11, he stated that work of KVP issue was done by him in hand to hand receipt book. He also stated that a page between 30-05-2000 and 31-05-2000 in Ex.Ka-11 was not torn by him. His signatures was not taken by SPM on SO daily account dated 29-05- 2000 and SO account dated 29-05-2000 (Exh. Ka-7) as joint custodian. He denied any payment on account of discharge of KVP on 29-05-2000 as no one came at his counter for discharge of KVP nor he saw the charged official making payment of KVP for Rs.69200. he also stated before the under signed that Exh.Ka-9, Ka-3, Ka-4 and Ka-5 were prepared by the charged official on 29-05-2000 in his hand writing. As regard preparation of Exh.Ka-3, Ka-4 and Ka-5 the matter has been discussed in detail under the evaluation of article of charge-I. Thus arguments put forth by the charged official are not correct.....The charged official denied to have prepared Exh.Ka-3, Ka-4 and Ka-5 in opposition of deposition of Bhagwati Prasad Sharma the then SB Counter PA Shamsabad SW-18 but he could not explain as to the person who prepared these documents while he asserted the payment of discharged KVPs to have been made by the SW-18. However these unauthenticated exhibits Exh.Ka-3, Ka-4 and Ka-5 were accepted by the CO as genuine and amount represented in them has been incorporated in account vide Exh. Ka-9 and Ka-7 on 29-05-2000. On comparison the handwriting of charge report dated 31-05-2000 submitted by the CO with his defence statement dated 23-02-05 with that of discharged journals Exh.Ka-3, Ka-4 and Ka-5, it is evident that these documents have been prepared one and the same person. Hence there is clear presumption that Exh.Ka-3, Ka-4 and Ka-5 were prepared by the charged official on 29-05- 2000. More the initial of the charged official on these documents also resembles with that appearing in red ink in the leftside upper corner of charge report dated 31-05-2000 on the designation stamp of Sub Postmaster LSG Shamsabad and below the word attested.‖

20. Keeping the aforesaid judicial parameters in mind, we proceed to examine the present case.

21. The scope of criminal proceedings initiated against the petitioner is revealed from the following portion of the judgment dated 29.03.2007 of the criminal court:-

―2. The prosecution case in brief is that state witness PW-2 lodged a written report Ex.K-8 in P.S. Shamshabad Agra that Shri Mahendra Kumar Sharma S/o Sh. Chiranji Lal, R/o 3/11 GPO Compound Agra was posted as Sub Postmaster, Shamshabad from 21-08-98 (A/N). On 29-05-2000 he prepared account bag of Shamshabad Sub Post Office and sent it to Head Post Office, Agra which was received in Head Post Office on 30-05-2000 by Shri Vedariya Ram, Cashier. While handing over daily account dated 29-05-2000 and vouchers, to Shri Dhirendra Kumar, Sub Accounts Assistant, Head Post Office, Agra it was found that KVP payment vouchers for Rs.16,000/- against payment of KVP amount of Rs.85,000/- as per daily account, were received. For the remaining Rs.69,2000/-, payment journal was received but paid KVP vouchers Nos.15CC-95042 to 950485 each in the denomination of Rs.10,000/- were not received. Report about it was made on the same day vide EB No.364 dated 30-05-2000 by Shir Dhirendra Kumar Sub Account Assistant and Shri H.N. Gupta, Assistant Post Master, Sub Account Head Post Office, Agra to all concerned. Due to non-receipt of paid KVP vouchers despite the report, it was found in departmental inquiry that on 29-05-2000 the said Shri Mahender Kumar Sharma, showing the said KVP in his own hand writing as RBT-43, a discharge journal of Rs.69,200/-, KVPs were prepared and KVPs of total amount of Rs.85,200/- were charged in payment including Rs.69,200/- whereas no transfer letter (NC-32) under RBT-43 was found about the Kisan Vikas Patras in Sub Post Office, Shamshabad. The duty for preparing discharge journal of payment of Kisan Vikas Patra and sending its vouchers to Head Post Office was that of Shri Bhagwati Prasad Sharma. Shri Mahender Kumar Sharma has been absent from duty on the excuse of illness continuously since 31-05-2000. During the course of departmental inquiry no record about Kisan Vikas Patra of Rs.69,200/- was found and it appears that Shri Mahender Kumar Sharma after preparing discharge Journal of Rs.69,200/- of fake Kisan Vikas Patra, himself embezzled the Govt. money. Appropriate action is therefore requested after registering a F.I.R.