ANANDAGOUDA Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE present appeal is preferred against the judgment of conviction and sentence passed by the Fast Track Court at Saundatti in S.C. No. 457/2011 in convicting the appellant for the offences under Sections 489(B) and 489(C) of I.P.C. and sentencing him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 10 years and to pay fine of Rs. 20,000/ -. In default to pay fine amount to undergo further period of 3 years imprisonment for the offence under Section 489(B) of IPC and also sentencing him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 5 years and to pay fine of Rs. 10,000/ - in default to pay fine accused shall undergo imprisonment for further period of 2 years for the offence under Section 489(C) of IPC. The factual matrix that emanate from the records are that, the complainant one by name Jagadeesh Chennabasayya Karajgimath had filed a complaint before the PSI, Murgod on 14.06.2010. It is alleged that, on the day at about 8.00 a.m. when he was in his Pan Shop at Yaragatti Village accused came to his shop and produced one 100 Rupee currency note requesting the complainant to provide one pack of Beedi and also a match box. On verification of the said note, the complainant suspected it as fake currency note. Immediately he caught hold the accused and took him to the Police Station and handed over the accused and that 100 rupee fake note to the Police.

(2.) IT is the further case of the prosecution that on search of the accused person in the Police Station, the Police also found 22 more fake currency notes in the pocket of the accused. It is also the case of the prosecution that at the time when the accused presented the said fake note in the shop of the complainant some other witnesses were also present who have witnessed the said incident. The Investigating Officer after recording the statement of witnesses and also sending the fake notes to the Reserve Bank of India for opinion as to genuineness of those currency notes and after getting the opinion confirmed himself that the currency notes recovered from the custody of the accused were all fake notes. Therefore, after completion of the investigation he submitted the charge sheet before the Court.

(3.) THE learned Trial Judge has framed charges against the accused person for the offences under Sections 489(B) and 489(C) of IPC. The accused pleaded not guilty thereafter the case set down for evidence. The prosecution in order to bring home the guilty of the accused examined 9 witnesses as PWs1 to 9 and got marked Ex. P1 to P15 and Material Objects MOs 1 to 23. The Trial Court after examining the accused under Section 313 of Cr.P.C. called upon the accused to enter into defence evidence if any, as the accused did not choose to do so, after hearing the arguments on merits, the Trial Court rendered the impugned judgment holding the accused guilty and sentenced him accordingly as noted above.