In Brief
Ram Sharan Chaturvedi, a Head Cashier at a bank branch, was convicted of conspiracy to commit theft (Rs. 6 lakhs) along with two other employees, based solely on his exclusive possession of one key to the bank's dual-lock system. The Supreme Court held that mere possession of keys, without evidence of prior agreement or overt acts manifesting conscious concurrence with co-conspirators, is insufficient to prove conspiracy. Since both key-holders were jointly responsible under the bank's manual, the appellant could not be solely culpable. The Court cautioned against replacing legal proof of agreement with suspicion and acquitted the appellant, allowing his appeal.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.