IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Cr.Misc. No.36584 of 2008 KRISHNA DEO PASWAN @ K.D.PASWAN Versus STATE OF BIHAR ----------- 4. 17.12.2008 Heard Sri B.J.Ojha, Advocate for the petitioner and the learned A.P.P. for the State. The case relates to one of the grate areas in the bank sector which is recently started appearing. The informant was holding a locker and it is not denied that she had stored therein of her ornaments both personal and ancestral. She operated the locker in May, 1999 and when she went to operate the same in February, 2002 she was not allowed to do that. The reason for not allowing the holder of the locker to operate, as assigned by the bankers, is that she had not paid up the requisite fee for tenanting a locker. Subsequently, on 17.4.2002, she went to operate the locker and she was accompanied by an officer of the Allahabad Bank, Buxar and to her dismay, she found that the locker was already opened and the ornaments were missing. She lodged a report to the police station. Some of the circumstances could tell that the occurrence could have occurred some - 2 - times in February, 2002 because the lady herself went there and was not allowed to operate the locker on the pretext that the lady had not paid the rent. It has come in the case diary that the lady has already an account in the bank and subsequently, the rent was realized out of that account which appears the practice of all banks. The court believes that the bankers were already through with the offence in February, 2002. But that could not be sufficient to implicate the petitioner unless the prosecution succeeds in establishing to some degree of satisfaction that the petitioner not could be there in the episode. The petitioner admitted that he was not the person who could be responsible for operating the locker in the manner or assisting the customers in such operations or was holding the master key of the lockers or that particular locker. The case diary reveals that the master key of the locker was lying with the Manager Operation and the persons responsible for operating the locker could be the Chief Manager, the Manager Operation and the Cashier. - 3 - The petitioner has taken a plea that he was not posted in that bank on the particular date during the period of occurrence. The court does not attach any importance to the plea which had not been taken in anticipatory bail and has indicated above in March, 2008 itself. Regard being had to the materials collected in the case diary, let the above named petitioner be released from custody on furnishing bond of Rs.10,000/-(ten thousand) with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of C.J.M. Buxar in Buxar(T)P.S.Case No.104 of 2002. B.Kr. ( Dharnidhar Jha, J. )