HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE R.KANTHA RAO

CRIMINAL PETITION NO. 3142 OF 2013

Tuesday, the Sixteenth Day of April, Two Thousand and Thirteen

Between

N.Venugopal Rao

Petitioner/A-2

AND

The State of Andhra Pradesh, Rep. by its Public Prosecutor, High Court Buildings, Hyderabad and another

Respondents

ORAL ORDER:

This Criminal Petition is filed to quash the charge sheet in C.C. No.834 of 2011 on the file of the III Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Gajuwaka, Visakhapatnam, insofar as the petitioner who is arrayed as Accused No.2, is concerned.

Heard the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner – Accused No.2 and the learned Public Prosecutor representing the State.

It is alleged in the charge sheet that the accused No.1 who is the then Municipal Commissioner of Gajuwaka Municipality has deviated from the general procedure in purchase of stationary in the tender schedules approved by the Council, directed the petitioner herein to prepare vouchers and bills in the names of fictitious firms for an amount of below Rs.10,000/- and after preparation of the vouchers and bills, accused No.1 got them approved and forwarded to the Accounts Section for preparation of cheques and thereafter self cheques were received by Accused No.1, then he signed on the cheques and forwarded to Sharoff. The petitioner got the payments of the self cheques to the representatives of the fictitious firms by affirming their identity and no stocks were supplied by the concerned fictitious firms and thereby the accused generated the bills and vouchers in the names of fictitious firms, forged the signatures of the concerned persons of the fictitious firms and misappropriated an amount of Rs.1,22,17,648/ through 1174 vouchers and bills and, therefore, the accused are liable for punishment for the offences under Secs.409, 420, 468 and 471 IPC.

After thorough investigation, the petitioner (A-2) and the accused No.1 were charge sheeted for the offences under Secs. 409, 420, 468 and 471 IPC in Cr. No.35 of 2008 by the Gajuwaka Police Station, Visakhapatnam.

The matter requires detailed trial and this court is not supposed to quash the charge sheet in exercise of powers under Sec.482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in a case of this nature.

The Criminal Petition is accordingly dismissed at the stage of admission.

Justice R.Kantha Rao

__________________

April 16, 2013 MAS