BAPI HALDER Vs. THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This criminal appeal has been directed against the judgment and order of conviction dated 24th September, 2013, recorded by learned Additional District and Sessions Judge, Haldia, Purba Medinipur in Sessions Trial No. 10(2) 2013 where learned trial Court found the appellant guilty of the offence punishable under Sec. 489C of the Indian Penal Code, convicted him and sentenced him to suffer rigorous imprisonment for five years and to pay a fine of Rs. 2,000/ - in default, to suffer further rigorous imprisonment for six months, though the appellant was found not guilty of the offence punishable under Sec. 489B of the Code.

(2.) Briefly stated the case of the prosecution, as revealed from the written complaint dated 11th August, 2012 is that on the self -same date while A.S.I., Dipak Kumar Nandi of Durgachak P.S. was on patrol duty, following a secret telephonic information from a reliable source, he apprehended the appellant, Bapi Halder @ Rejabul at Manjusree More (Durgachak P.S.) with 20 fake Indian Currency Notes of Rs. 100/ - denomination and two such fake notes of Rs. 500/ - denomination kept in a brown envelope while the appellant was getting down from Sutahata bound bus near Janata Hotel at said Manjusree More. On interrogation and search in presence of three local witnesses, such Fake Indian Currency Notes were recovered from the custody of the appellant who on further interrogation confessed that he used to deal with forged currency notes and he obtained the said notes from one Sk. Serajul Haque of Raichak. The appellant failed to give any satisfactory explanation for possessing those fake notes. Accordingly, the police officer holding such raid, arrested the appellant from the spot with those fake notes and ultimately he was sent to the court to face trial for committing the offence punishable under Sec. 489B/489C of the Indian Penal Code, after due investigation of the case.

(3.) In course of trial learned Court below examined ten witnesses altogether including the A.S.I., Dipak Kumar Nandi (P.W. - 1), the de facto complainant, three witnesses, claimed to be local witnesses, named Sripati Jana (P.W. - 4), Bapan Bhunia (P.W. - 5), Sk. Mosaraf Ali (P.W. - 6), S.I., Subhash Chandra Jana, I.O. of this case (P.W. - 10) and one B. Venkataramana, the Manager of Salboni Mint who examined the genuineness of the notes as expert (P.W. - 3) and other witnesses like C/113 Tapan Samanta, C/885 Pradip Kumar Majhi, C/986 Tapan Das (P.Ws. 7, 8 & 9) respectively, i.e. the members of the raiding party accompanying the de facto complainant while performing mobile duty. On the strength of the evidence and materials -on -record, learned trial Court found the appellant not guilty of the offence punishable under Sec. 489B of the Indian Penal Code but found him guilty of the offence punishable under Sec. 489C of the Code and sentenced him to suffer rigorous imprisonment and to pay a fine, as referred to earlier.