STATE OF KARNATAKA Vs. K S RAMDAS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In all eighteen persons were charge-sheeted, in regard to the offence pertaining to counterfeiting of currency notes of Rs. 2/- denomination, in C. C. No. 6 of 1968 in the Court of the Munsiff-Magistrate, Kadur. Four persons namely Sundaram Chettiar, Velu, Govindaswamy and Babu, who were arraigned as A-15, A-16, A-17 and A-18 in the chargesheet were shown to be absconding. Shivananda or Shivanna who was arrayed as A-3 in the charge-sheet died while he was apprehended. As A-16 to A-18 were absconding, the case against them was split up and the case against the 13 remaining accused was taken up. They were committed to the Court of Session in Chickmagalur. The case was registered as S. C. No. 5 of 1970. The learned Sessions Judge, acquitted the said accused of all the charges. A-7 before the learned Sessions Judge was H. C. Virappa. He was acquitted as the Special Public Prosecutor, who prosecuted the case there, fairly made a statement that there was no case against him.

(2.) In this appeal, the State has challenged the judgment of acquittal of the remaining 12 accused who were arraigned as A-l to A-6 and A-8 to A-12.

(3.) For easy understanding of the development of the events leading to this case, we refer to the respondents before us by their respective accused numbers and to Sundaram Chettiar as A-15.