' This criminal appeal arises from the judgment of the learned Special Judge Anti-Corruption, Lahore whereby he on 2nd December, 1984 convicted Ziaul Haq and Ehtashamul Haq appellants under sections 420/468/471, P.P.C. And Section 5 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 and sentenced them as under:- ' Ziaul Haq appellant:-
(i) Under section 420, P.P.C. To two years' R.I. And a fine of Rs,2,000 in default thereof two months' R.I.;
(ii) Under section 468, P.P.C. Two years' R.I. And a fine of Rs,2,000 in default thereof two months' R.I.;
(iii) Under section 471, P.P.C. Two years' R.I. And a fine of Rs,2,000 in default thereof two months' R.I.
And
(iv) Under section 5 of the P.C.A., 1947 to one year's R.I. And a fine of Rs,2,000 in default thereof two months' R.I.
' Ehtashamul Haq appellant.
(i) Under section 420, P.P.0 four years' R.I.
(ii) Under section 468,. P.P.C. Three years' R.I.
' The trial Court directed that the sentences of the appellants shall run consecutively.
2. The appellants are real borthers. The charges against them were that when Ziaul Haq submitted his admission form for taking Matriculation examination, the photograph of his brother Ehtashamul Haq appellant was pasted on the admission form and that the signatures of District Inspectress of Schools on the said form were forged and in this way Ehtashamul Haq took examination in place of Ziaul Haq and as such Matric certificate in favour of Ziaul Haq was fraudulently obtained and on the strength certificate so obtained Ziaul Haq appellant obtained job in the Education Department.
The appellants denied the charge and claimed to be tried.
3. To prove its case, the prosecution examined nine witnesses.One witness was examined as a Court witness. Shabir Hussain Shah P.W.1 attested recovery memo. P.C. Of Matric certificate Exh. P.A.
Azhar Siddiquee, Assistant Controller, Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Lahore produced original admission form Exh. P.D. Of Ziaul Haq before the Investigating Officer whereon photo Exh. P.D/2 of Ehtashamul Haq was found to have been pasted. Nisar Ahmad Mirza, Principal, Government College for Elementary Teachers, Gakhar stated that Ziaul Haq was P.T.C. Teacher in M.N. School Texan Gate, Lahore who had submitted application Exh.P.E. Alongwith attested photostat copy Exh. P.E/1 for getting regular scale of P.T.C. The scale was subsequently allowed. The witness further stated that on receiving complaint that Matric certificate of Ziaul Haq was a fictitious one, he wrote letter copy Exh.P.E. To the Secondary Board. Alongwith the letter he sent photo copy of certificate Exh. P.A. In reply to the letter he received letter copy Exh. P.G. Alongwith photo copy of the admission form Exh.P.H. And photo of Ehtashamul Haq P.H/1 thereon, from the Controller. He found that photo P.H/1 was not that of Ziaul Haq. The witness also stated that Matric Certificate was a pre-condition for admission to the P.T.C. Class. On finding that the admission form was not genuine, the witness reported the matter to the S.P. Anti-Corruption and sent photostat copies of documents Exhs. P.G., P.F., P.H. And P.K. To him. Shamim Ahmed P.W.4 is witness of the production of application Exh.P.E., photostat copy Exh.P.E/1 and Exh.P.B. And Exh.P.F/2 before the Investigating Officer. Muhammad Hafiz Farooq P.W.5 produced admission form Exh.P.M. And photostat copy of Matric certificate Exh.P.M/1 before the Investigating Officer. Miss Najma Choudhury A.D.I. Of Schools, Lahore stated that the admission form Exh.P.D. Did not bear his signatures; and that signatures P.D/3, P.D/4 and P.D/5 were not in her hand. Muhammad Mushtaq Qureshi Ex-Controller Examinations stated that on 24-9-1978 letter photostat copy Exh.P.F.
Alongwith photo copy of Matric certificate of Ziaul Haq Roll No,15385/73 were brought to him for verification. The witness stated that on the checking of the record it transpired that the admission form contained photograph of a person other than Ziaul Haq candidate. The witness had furnished correct copies of admission form. Masood Pervez Inspector P.W.8 and Din Muhammad S.I. Had investigated the case. The Court examined Nazir Ahmed as Court-witness. The witness produced P.T.C. Training result sheet of December, 1979 which showed that Ziaul Haq appellant had appeared in P.T.C. In December, 1975 under Roll Number 416 but had failed and that he again appeared in December, 1977 and qualified the examination under Roll No,25 and on the basis of this result certificate P.B. Was issued to him.
4. When examined under section 342, Cr.P.C. The appellant denied all the incriminating circumstances. In defence Miss Kausar Parveen was produced. She deposed that one Munir Hussain was a teacher in her school who after taking some intoxicants entered her room whereon she informed Ziaul Haq appellant who took him to District Education Officer. On this Munir Hussain became inimical towards the appellant and got him falsely involved in the case with the help of Mirza Nisar Ahmad P.W. His friend.
5. The learned counsel for the appellants submitted that the prosecution has failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt; that the appellants were falsely invovled at the instance of Mirza Nisar Ahmad and District Education Officer; that no handwriting expert was examined to prove the signatures of Ziaul Haq on the admission form P.D. And that in fact the photograph of Ziaul Haq was removed and that Ehtashamul Haq was substituted on the admission form to involve the appellants in the case. The learned counsel for the State however supported the judgment of the trial Court.
6. I have considered the arguments advanced by the learned counsel for the parties with care. As for their conviction under section 420, P.P.C. I find that there is no evidence of any fraudulent inducement by the appellant and as such they could not have been convicted A under section 420, P.P.C. So far as conviction of Ziaul Haq under section 5 of the P.C.A., 1947 is concerned, I find that since at the time of the forgery of the admission form he was not a public servant, his conviction under section 5(2), therefore, was uncalled for. Coming to the conviction of the appellants under sections 468 and 471, P.P.C. I find that there is ample oral as well as documentary evidence to connect the appellants with the preparation of false admission form inasmuch as photo of Ehtashamul Haq was found pasted on the admission for of Ziaul Haq appellant. Since they are real brothers, the circumstances indicate that in collusion with each other, photo of Ehtashamul Haq was pasted falsely for the photo of Ziaul Haq in order to enable Ehtashamul Haq to take examination for Ziaul Haq appellant. The authenticity of the record of the Education Department and that of the c Intermediate and Secondary Education Board is above board. The prosecution witnesses had no enmity to falsely involve the appellants. The defence evidence in no manner rebuts prosecution case and its evidence. From the oral, circumstantial and documentary evidence on record, I feel convinced that the appellants have rightly been convicted by the trial Court. The sentences awarded to them are not excessive.
6. For what has been stated above, the appeal is partly accepted.The convictions and sentences of the appellants under section 420, P.P.C. And section 5 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 are set aside. The conviction of Ziaul Haq under sections 468 and 471, P.P.C. And the sentence awarded to them under these sections are maintained with the modifications that the sentences would run concurrently. The conviction and sentence of Ehtashamul Haq under section 468, P.P.C. Is also maintained.