Summary
The Supreme Court upheld a bank employee’s convictions for misappropriation and falsification of accounts, accepting the concurrent finding that his handwritten extra-judicial confessions were voluntary. The absence of a written order assigning him clerical duties did not absolve him when the evidence showed he performed that work. Corroboration was a rule of prudence rather than an invariable requirement for every detail. Considering the passage of time, the Court reduced the section 409 IPC sentence from five to three years while confirming the corruption conviction and its two-year sentence.
Issues
- Whether absence of written authorisation to perform clerical duties defeated responsibility for the proved misappropriation.
- Whether the extra-judicial confessions were voluntary and could support conviction.
- Whether the sentence required reduction given the age of the occurrence.
Held
- Although employed as a peon and lacking a written clerical-duty order, the appellant was shown to have performed cash-clerk work. The irregular assignment and officers’ negligence did not relieve him of responsibility for his own fraud. (¶¶ 7, 8)
- An extra-judicial confession requires careful scrutiny for truth, voluntariness and confidence. A voluntary confession can support conviction; independent corroboration is ordinarily prudent where possible, but neither corroboration in every case nor independent proof of every circumstance stated is invariably required. (¶¶ 13, 14, 15)
- Mere assertion of pressure or inducement was insufficient on this record. The handwritten statements were proved by the bank officers, who were not cross-examined with the suggested threats or promises. There was no ground to disturb the concurrent finding of voluntariness. (¶¶ 9, 10, 11, 16)
- The convictions under the then-applicable section 13(1)(c) read with section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and sections 477-A and 409 IPC were confirmed. Given the 1992–94 occurrence and passage of time, imprisonment under section 409 was reduced from five to three years; the two-year corruption sentence was confirmed. (¶¶ 17, 18)
Result
Appeals partly allowed only as to sentence: section 409 IPC imprisonment reduced to three years, convictions otherwise confirmed. Appellant to surrender within four weeks to serve the remaining sentence, failing which he was to be taken into custody.