K.N. Phaneendra, J.

1. The State through Sub-Urban Police Station, Hubli submitted a charge sheet against the accused for the offence punishable under Section 489-B of I.P.C. The allegations against the accused are that on 22.02.2011 at about 12.30 p.m. the accused/appellant herein being in possession of 10 counterfeit currency notes of the denomination of Rs. 500/- of the series 8MT 084858 he attempted to deposit the said 10 counterfeit currency notes by mixing with 6 genuine currency notes of the same denomination knowing fully well that the said fake currency notes of the said series of the denomination of Rs. 500/- are counterfeit fake currency notes. He intended to deposit that account of his brother Sri. Bhagawan Singh S/o Khethsingh having Account No. 18072200070823 with Syndicate Bank, Sriramnagar Branch, Gangavathi for the purpose of wrongful gain and by doing such transaction he has committed an offence punishable under the above said provision. After securing the accused, the Court has framed charges against the accused for the above said offence and put the accused on trial.

2. The prosecution in order to prove the guilt of the accused examined as many as 11 witnesses PW-1 to PW-11 and got marked Ex. P1 to P14 and MOs 1 to 16. MOs 1 to 10 are the fake currency notes of denomination of Rs. 500/- and MOs 11 to 16 are six genuine currency notes of denomination of Rs. 500/-.

3. Learned Sessions Judge after appreciating the evidence of prime prosecution witnesses and also considering all the other relevant materials found the accused guilty and sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of five years and to pay a fine of Rs. 20,000/- with a default clause to undergo simple imprisonment for one year. The said order is called in question before this Court.

4. The learned Counsel for the appellant strenuously contends that though some materials have been placed by the prosecution to show that some currency notes were recovered at the instance of the accused, but there is no proof given by the prosecution to establish the ingredients of Section 489-B of I.P.C. None of the witnesses have stated about the intention of the accused in producing the said fake currency notes, that, knowing fully well that those currency notes are fake currency notes and in order to have wrongful gain he intentionally produced those currency notes in the Bank. In the absence of proving the ingredients of Section 489-B of I.P.C. mere recovery of the fake currency notes from the custody of the accused does not come to the aid of the prosecution.

5. Per contra, the learned Additional State Public Prosecutor submitted that the possession of the currency notes itself presupposes the conduct of the accused and his knowledge about those currency notes. He specifically submitted that in this particular case all the fake currency notes are having common number. Therefore, any ordinary prudent man can definitely have the knowledge that those currency notes are not genuine notes and they are fake currency notes. Therefore, the accused need not be an expert to come to the conclusion that those currency notes are fake currency notes. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the accused to explain his innocence. Bearing in mind the above said submissions made by the learned Counsel, it is just and necessary for this Court to have the provision under Section 489-B to ascertain what exactly the prosecution has to establish before the Court of Law.

6. Section 489-B of I.P.C. reads as follows :

"489(B) Using as genuine, forged or counterfeit currency-notes or bank-notes.--Whoever sells to, or buys or receives from, any other person, or otherwise traffics in or uses as genuine, any forged or counterfeit currency-note or bank-note, knowing or having reason to believe the same to be forged or counterfeit, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable