BHOPAL: It took a postmaster 32 years to finally get justice in a case which began with a minor clerical error. Back in 1983, Manakram, then in his 40s, was posted as postmaster at a post office branch in Madhya Pradesh’s Betul district.
An inspection of the post office revealed that Manakram had failed to make the desired entry of a Rs 3,956 deposit in the branch register.
Though the sum was deposited in the treasury and its entry also made in the account holder’s passbook, the absence of its entry in the branch’s deposit register landed him in legal trouble.
Though no financial irregularity was established, the error was considered as embezzlement and criminal proceedings were initiated against him. In 1993, a trial court convicted Manakram under Section 409 of the IPC (criminal breach of trust by a public servant).
The court subsequently sentenced him to imprisonment “till the rising of the court” and slapped Rs 3,000 fine on him. This sentence doesn’t require confinement in a jail, but rather allows the court to direct the place of confinement.
Manakram challenged the decision in the district and sessions court, but it upheld his conviction. He then moved the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Jabalpur, but finally got justice recently.
Delivering the verdict, the HC bench headed by Justice MS Bhatti, not only reversed the lower court’s verdict but also pronounced that the postman’s act amounted to a departmental lapse and not a criminal offence.
The high court further stated in its recent order that before delivering such judgments, the lower courts need to assess whether the act was committed with a criminal intent or not.