State Represented By vs G.Senthilkumar (A1)

Headnote AI-drafted · Reviewed and approved

The CBI filed a criminal appeal under Section 378(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure challenging the acquittal of five accused persons by the II Additional District Judge for CBI Cases, Madurai in C.C.No.13 of 2010. The accused were alleged to have entered into a criminal conspiracy to cheat unemployed youth by falsely promising employment in the Railway Protection Force (RPF), fabricating forged documents including application forms, index cards, selection cards, appointment orders and duty allotment orders, and thereby cheating multiple victims of money on the false representation of securing government employment.

The prosecution examined 41 witnesses and exhibited 77 documents along with 9 material objects to establish charges under Sections 120(b) read with 420, 468, 471 and 473 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 13(1)(d) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. P.W.3, a co-accused, was granted pardon and turned approver. P.W.2 and P.W.4, who had received forged appointment orders, attempted to join duty at the Madurai RPF office on 14.06.2009, which led to the exposure of the fraud and the lodging of a complaint with the CBI. The trial court, after considering prosecution and defence evidence, acquitted all the accused by judgment dated 19.04.2017.

The CBI contended before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court that the trial court committed grave errors in appreciating the evidence, including the approver's testimony, the documentary evidence relating to forged documents, and the corroborative statements of witnesses, and that the cumulative evidence irresistibly pointed to the guilt of the accused. The accused respondents maintained that they were falsely implicated, with A1 in particular claiming to be a victim himself who had been wrongly arrayed as an accused.

Catchwords: criminal appeal against acquittal · conspiracy · cheating · forgery · Railway Protection Force · fake appointment orders · job racketeering · approver evidence · Prevention of Corruption Act · CBI investigation · Section 378 CrPC