JUDGMENT :

PRASHANT KUMAR MISHRA, J.

1. Leave granted.

2. The present Appeal arises out of the judgment dated 30.04.2025 passed by the High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Jabalpur in Criminal Appeal No. 653 of 2024, whereby the High Court dismissed the appeal preferred by the appellant herein and affirmed the judgment of conviction and sentence dated 06.01.2024 passed by the Fifth Additional Sessions Judge, Rewa, Madhya Pradesh in Sessions Case No. 200089 of 2015. By the said judgment, the appellant was convicted for offences punishable under Sections 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860¹ [For short ‘IPC’] and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for five years on each count along with fine of Rs. 1,000/- under each head, with the substantive sentences directed to run concurrently.

3. This Court, by order dated 21.11.2025, issued notice limited to the question of quantum of sentence. Consequently, the present proceedings are confined only to the issue relating to the sentence imposed upon the appellant and the conviction recorded by the Trial Court, as affirmed by the High Court, is not under consideration in this judgment before this Court.

4. The prosecution’s case,