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2012 Supreme(Kar) 1023
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BANGALORE
K.N. Keshavanarayana, J.
Anjineyalu and others —Appellant
Vs.
State of Karnataka —Respondent
Criminal Appeal No. 2279 of 2005 (c)
Decided on : 19-07-2012
Advocate Appeared:
Mr. S.A. Khadri, for the Appellant
Mr. G.M. Srinivasa Reddy, HCGP, for the Respondent
The central legal point established in the judgment is the requirement for the prosecution to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt, especially in cases involving possession of incriminating items. The judgment emphasized the need for reliable and corroborated evidence, as well as the scrutiny of prosecution's case to ensure a fair trial.
Headnote:
Counterfeit Currency - Criminal Law - Section 489C of IPC - Summary: The court acquitted the accused persons of the charge of possessing counterfeit currency notes under Section 489C of the IPC. The judgment highlighted the lack of conclusive evidence of possession and raised doubts about the alleged seizure of the currency notes. The court found discrepancies in the evidence presented by the prosecution, including the absence of corroboration from independent witnesses and inconsistencies in the documentation of the alleged seizure. The judgment emphasized the failure of the prosecution to establish the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt.
Fact of the Case:
The accused were convicted for possessing counterfeit currency notes under Section 489C of the IPC based on the prosecution's case that the notes were seized from their possession during a raid. The accused denied the allegations and claimed false implication. The prosecution relied on the testimony of police officials and documentary evidence.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the prosecution failed to conclusively prove the possession of counterfeit currency notes by the accused beyond reasonable doubt. It highlighted discrepancies in the evidence, lack of corroboration from independent witnesses, and doubts about the alleged seizure. The court concluded that the judgment of conviction was based on unreliable evidence and acquitted the accused.
Issues: The issues included the reliability of the alleged seizure of counterfeit currency notes, the credibility of the prosecution's evidence, and the sufficiency of proof to establish the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt.
Ratio Decidendi: The court emphasized the importance of reliable and corroborated evidence in criminal cases, especially in establishing possession of incriminating items. It highlighted the need for assurance from independent witnesses and the scrutiny of evidence presented by the prosecution. The judgment underscored the requirement to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Final Decision: The court allowed the appeal, set aside the judgment of conviction, and acquitted the accused persons of the charge under Section 489C of the IPC. The bail bond and surety bonds were ordered to be discharged, and any deposited fine amount was to be refunded to the accused.
K.N. KESHAVANARAYANA, J.—This appeal filed under Section 374(2) of Cr.P.C. by the accused persons in S.C. No. 259/2002 on the file of II Additional District and Sessions Judge, Bangalore Rural District, Bangalore is directed against the judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 16.11.2005 passed in the said case convicting the appellants-accused for the offence punishable under Section 489C of IPC and sentencing them to undergo Rigorous Imprisonment for five (5) years and each of them to pay fine of Rs. 5,000/- for the said offence.
2. The case of the prosecution in brief is as under:
On 24.4.2001 while P.W. 7-Lokeshwara, PSI, Doddallaballapur Police Station was discharging duty as SHO, at about 3.00 p.m., he received a credible information that in the house of accused No. 1 situated near Mangala School, accused persons are dealing with fake notes. Immediately P.W. 7 secured the presence of P.Ws. 1 to 3 and 8 as independent panchas, apprised them about the credible information which he had received and requested them to act as panchas, for which all of them agreed; that thereafter P.W. 7 alongwith P.Ws. 1 to 3 and P.W. 8 and his staffs i.e. P.Ws. 5 and 6 went near the house of accused No. 1, and reached the first floor of the house, they saw accused Nos. 1 and 2 inside the house hurriedly keeping one black coloured bag in the almerah. Immediately, P.W. 7 alongwith his staff and panchas took out the bag from the almerah and on verification of the bag, it was found containing 40 notes of denotation of Rs. 500/-. On verification, there were more than one note bearing the same serial numbers. Therefore, P.W. 7 was of the opinion that they were all fake notes. Thereafter, in the presence of panchas and other staff, P.W. 7 separately bundled the notes bearing same numbers and then put all the bundles in a white coloured bag, sealed the same with seal bearing letter ‘H’. Thereafter, P.W. 7 made search in the house to know whether there are any printing machines and other fake notes, but nothing more was found in the house. With regard to this seizure, P.W. 7 drew up a detailed mahazar as per Ex.P.1 between 4.00 to 5.00 p.m. to which the panchas and other staff subscribed their signatures. Thereafter, on return to police station, P.W. 7 prepared a suo motu report as per Ex.P.6, based on which, he registered case in Crime No. 60/2001 for the offence punishable under Section 489C of IPC and submitted FIR as per Ex.P-7 which reached the jurisdictional Magistrate at 6.30 p.m. on the same day. P.W. 10-H.R. Radhamani, Police Inspector of C.A. Squad, COD, Bangalore took up further investigation of the case from P.W. 7 and during investigation, she recorded the statements of the witnesses, sent the seized notes to RBI for examination and report. P.W. 4-M. Venkatapathy, Treasurer of RBI on examination of notes sent, furnished his opinion as per Ex.P.5 to the effect that all the notes sent for examination were fake and counterfeit currency notes. After completing investigation P.W. 10 laid charge sheet before the jurisdictional Magistrate.
3. On committal of the case, the accused appeared before the learned Sessions Judge and pleaded not guilty for the charge levelled against them and claimed to be tried. During the trial, the prosecution examined in all 10 witnesses as P.Ws. 1 to 10 and placed reliance on documentary evidence marked as Exs.Pl to P10. Counterfeit currency notes were marked as MOs. 1 to 40. During their examination under Section 313 Cr.P.C., accused persons denied all the incriminating circumstances against them in the evidence of prosecution witnesses. They did not choose to lead any defence evidence. The defence of accused was one of total denial and that of false implication. After hearing both sides and on appreciation of both oral as well as documentary evidence, by judgment under appeal, the learned Sessions Judge, placing reliance on the evidence of P.Ws. 4 to 7 held prosecution has proved the possession of
