TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1962 (11) TMI 93
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.... varieties of hard wood, to the Central Railway Administration. The total cost for the entire supply was Rs. 3,99,556-8-0. The wood was to be supplied at three places in different quantities. 630 tons were to be consigned to the District Controller of Stores, C.W.E., Matunga, Bombay, 26 1/2 tons were to be supplied to the Assistant Controller of Stores, Lallaguda and 650 tons were to be supplied to the Assistant Controller of stores, Jhansi. Prior to the supply, the wood was to be inspected by the Chief Engineer (Sleeper Passing Branch), Southern Railway, Madras, or an officer acting for him, and the places of inspection were Kallayi, Mangalore and Vallapatnam. The first and the last of the places were in the Kerala State. The payments were to be made by the Pay and Accounts Officer, Ministry of Works, Housing and supply, New Delhi. The procedure to be followed in obtaining the payment was as follows. 4. Immediately after despatch, the Contractor could submit his bill and claim 90% of the price. Along with the bill he had to attach the first copy of the inspection note. The balance, viz., 10% of the price, was paid later when two further copies of the inspection note and certain....
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....the Corruption Act. Charge No. 2 was amended to the effect that the amended charge referred to the supply of the entire quantity of wood, i.e. 1306 1/2 tons of wood and to the receipt of Rs. 3,77,771/-. Charge No. 6 was amended, inter alia, to the effect that Thomson, by abusing his position as public servant obtained advantage for himself from the partners of the firm. The accused-appellants went in revision to the High Court of Bombay and questioned the legality or propriety of the various charges. The High Court ordered certain minor modifications in the charges, with which we are not concerned and restricted charge No. 2 to the supply of 521 tons of wood and to the receipt of Rs. 1,41,309/- in accordance with the charge originally framed by the Special Judge, Kerala, as the Kerala Court did not have jurisdiction to try the offence committed in respect of the supply of wood to places outside its jurisdiction. 9. The Union of India has filed Criminal Appeal No. 190 of 1961 against the High Court's order restricting the charge No. 2 to the supply of 521 tons of wood and to the receipt of Rs. 1,41,309/- odd. 10. The relevant part of the main charge of conspiracy against a....
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....details of each item of cheating would sufficiently meet the requirements of law and that the bills were presumably signed by the Firm just as the forwarding letters were and that therefore both the partners could be properly charged for the offence of cheating. 12. The cheating was in pursuance of the conspiracy entered into between the various accused. The salient features of the conspiracy were that in pursuance of the contract for the supply of 1306 1/2 tons of specified wood, inferior wood be supplied and that for the success of the scheme false inspection certificates be obtained from the Inspecting Officers and that such false inspection notes should accompany the bills purporting to be for the supply of wood per specifications. The object of the conspiracy was to obtain the full contract price from the Government on supplying material inferior in quality from that undertaken to be supplied under he contract. Naturally, the entire supply could not be made at the same time even if it was to be made at one place. Actually the supply was to be made at three places. The wood inspected at a particular place of inspection could be distributed to the various places of supply. Th....
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.... each of the offences which were in a way included in the complete offence made up by the entire course of conduct of the accused in pursuance of the conspiracy. 15. Section 233 Cr. P.C. reads : "For every distinct offence of which any person is accused there shall be a separate charge, and every such charge shall be tried separately, except in the cases mentioned in sections 234, 235, 236, and 239." 16. The expression 'every distinct offence' must have a different content from the expression 'every offence' or 'each offence'. A separate charge is required for every distinct offence and not necessarily for each separate offence. 17. The question is, what is meant by 'every distinct offence' ? 'Distinct' means 'not identical'. It stresses characteristics that distinguish while the word 'separate' would stress the 'two things not being the same.' Two offences would be distinct if they be not in any way inter-related. If there be some inter-relation, there would be not distinctness and it would depend on the circumstances of the case in which the offences were committed whether there be separate charges ....
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....adho Bhot I.L.R. (1886) Cal. 270 a person's furnishing the police with false information against two persons was held to result in one offence under s. 182 I.P.C., as the false statement he had made was one though the information conveyed by the statement related to two persons. 24. In John Subarna v. King Emperor 10 C.W.N. 520 a person, who asked the villagers to pay certain amount per head for signing their parchas was held to have committed one offence of cheating as he did not ask each individual villager, but spoke to them in a body and the contention that he had made as many attempts to obtain money as there were villagers from whom he had sought remuneration was not accepted. In this case it is clear that the accused's act aimed at obtaining money from all the villagers whom he addressed and that act in its entirely was held to constitute one offence even though his asking the villagers in a body could be said to amount to his asking each individual villager for the money and thus to constitute as many offences as there were villagers whom he asked. 25. In Promotha Natha Ray v. King Emperor 17 C.W.N. 479 one charge was framed under s. 406 I.P.C., with respect t....