1 2025:CGHC:2743-DB NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR CRA No. 1504 of 2024 Ramnarayan Sahu S/o Ramgopal Aged About 24 Years R/o Village Narayanpur, Chikhlapara, Police Station Ramanujnagar, District Surajpur, Chhattisgarh. ... Appellant versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through Station House Officer, Police Station Surajpur, District Surajpur, Chhattisgarh. 2 - National Investigation Agency Through Union Of India, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. (Impleaded As Formal Party) ---- Respondents (Cause title taken from Case Information System) For Appellant : Mr. Anil Kumar Gulati, Advocate For Respondent/State : Mr. Shashank Thakur, Deputy A.G. Hon'ble Shri Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice Hon'ble Shri R avindra Kumar Agrawal , Judge Judgment on Board Per Ramesh Sinha, C.J. 16/01/2025 1. Challenge in the present appeal filed under section 21(1) of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act, 2008 is the impugned judgement of conviction and sentence dated 10.07.2024, passed by Digitally signed by VEDPRAKASH DEWANGAN 2 learned Special Judge (NIA Act), Bilaspur, in Special Case (NIA) No. 15/2021, whereby the appellant has been convicted for the offence under section 489-C of the IPC and sentenced for R.I. for 4 years with fine of Rs.1000/-, in default of payment of fine further R.I. for 1 month. 2. The brief facts of the case are that on 24.08.2021 at about 10:15 AM, the PW-6/B.D. Yadav, who was the Sub-Inspector of Police posted at Police Station Kotwali, District Surajpur received a secret information that the appellant was having counterfeit currency note of 200 denomination and trying to its trafficking in the local market. The secret information was recorded by him in Rojnamcha Sanha No. 17 (Exhibit P-16) and called the independent witnesses PW-1/Ganesh Gupta and PW-7/Golu Pandey. Their appearance was also recorded in Rojnamcha/Exhibit P-18 and thereafter the police party along with the independent witnesses proceeded towards the place of incident and they have been informed by secret information and prepared a Panchnama/Exhibit P-2, which has also been reduced in Rojnamcha/Exhibit P-19. A memo/Exhibit P-15 was also forwarded to the senior police officer through Kailash Yadav (PW-4) with respect to the necessity to search without warrant. The acknowledgment/Exhibit P-21 was obtained from the office of Additional Superintendent of Police. After informing the senior officer through mobile phone and recording its proceeding in Rojnamcha/Exhibit P-22, the police party went on the spot and found the appellant there and who has been informed about the secret information. Talashi Panchnama of the police party was prepared vide Exhibit P-3 in presence of the witnesses and the independent witnesses Talashi Panchnama/Exhibit 3 P-4 was also prepared and thereafter the Talashi of the appellant was also made and Panchnama/Exhibit P-5 was prepared. From the pocket of the pant of the appellant total 7 numbers of counterfeit currency notes of 200 denominations were recovered out of which 5 counterfeit notes were of same serial number i.e. 9GH439196 and 2 counterfeit notes were of same serial number i.e. 2EG892899. The independent witnesses have also identified the said counterfeit currency note that it was the fake currency note and they identified by its touching and seeing and an identification Panchnama/Exhibit P-6 was prepared. The said counterfeit currency note, one touchscreen mobile and Activa scooty of the appellant has been seized vide seizure memo/Exhibit P-8. Spot map/Exhibit P-7 was prepared. The appellant was arrested and the intimation of his arrest was given to his family members vide Exhibit P-10. The seized articles and the appellant were taken to police station, where FIR/Exhibit P-24 was registered. The house of the appellant was also been searched and Talashi Panchnama/Exhibit P11 was prepared. The seized counterfeit currency notes were sent for its examination along with the memo/ Exhibit P-13 to State Bank of India, Surajpur and obtained report/Exhibit P-14. The said counterfeit currency note seized from the appellant was also examined by the Indian Currency Note Press Nasik Road, Maharashtra and its report is Exhibit P-30. The statement of the witnesses under section 161 have been recorded. After completion of investigation, charge sheet has been filed against the appellant before the learned trial Court For the offense under section 489-B of IPC. 3. Learned trial Court has framed charge against the appellant for the 4 offence under sections 489-B and 489-C of IPC. The appellant abjured his guilt and claimed trial. In order to prove the charge against the appellant, the prosecution has examined as many as seven witnesses. Statement of the appellant under section 313 of CRPC has also been recorded in which he denied the circumstances appears against him, plead innocence and has submitted that he has been falsely implicated in the offence, because he was having some altercation and dispute with the police party while checking of the vehicles. 4. After considering oral as well as documentary evidence led by the prosecution the learned trial Court has convicted the appellant and sentenced him as mentioned in the earlier part of the judgment. Hence this appeal. 5. Learned counsel for the appellant would submit that the prosecution has failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. There are material omissions and contradictions in the evidence of prosecution witnesses. All the witnesses are the official witnesses. The independent witnesses have not supported the prosecution's case and the police party have reason to falsely implicate the appellant, as dispute was occurred during the checking of the vehicle. The prosecution could not establish that the appellant was in possession of the said counterfeit currency notes of 200 denominations. In alternative, he would submit that if the allegation against the appellant is found proved that he was in possession of said counterfeit currency notes, he has been convicted only for possession of the said counterfeit currency note, which is punishable under section 489-C of 5 the IPC and no minimum sentence was provided for the said offence. The appellant was remained in jail for about 5½ months during the trial and 06 months after his conviction and thereby he already undergone about 11 ½ months of his jail sentence and his sentence may be considered to be the sufficient sentence for the alleged offence. 6. Per contra, learned counsel for the respondent/State vehemently opposed the submissions made by learned counsel for the appellant and has submitted that the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, but for minor omission or contradictions the evidence of the witnesses are fully reliable. From the evidence of the witnesses it has been proved that the appellant was having possession of 07 numbers seven numbers of counterfeit currency notes of 200 denominations, out of which 05 counterfeit notes were of same numbers and 02 counterfeit notes were of same numbers and thereby it cannot be said that he was not in knowledge that the said currency notes were counterfeit currency notes and he cannot take the benefit of the same. The trafficking of counterfeit currency notes does affect the economy of the government and the nature of offence is very serious affecting the economy of the country and therefore no leniency could be extended to the appellant as the learned trial court has quite lenient in awarding this sentence. The appeal of the appellant does not have any merits and the same is liable to be dismissed. 7. We have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record carefully. 8. PW-1/Ganesh Gupta and PW-7/Golu Pandey are the independent 6 witnesses, but they have turned hostile and not supported the prosecution's case, however They have admitted their signatures in the document/Exhibit P-1 To P-11. 9. PW-2 Jadavendra Kampa is the Branch Manager of State Bank of India Surajpur branch has stated in his evidence that on 24.08.2021 he received 07 numbers of counterfeit currency notes for its examination which was of 200 denomination. After its examination, he found that out of 07 counterfeit currency notes, 05 currency notes were of same serial number i.e. 9GH439196 and 02 counterfeit currency notes were of same serial number i.e. 2EG892899, in which neither any security feature nor any watermark and security thread were there. He submitted his report (exhibit P-14) and proved that it was the counterfeit currency notes. In cross-examination, he stated that he is having specialization in examination of the currency notes. they were having training of examination of the currency notes, which were conducted by the RBI. 10. PW-3/Heeralal Sahu is the Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police and member of the search party. He stated in his evidence that after receiving secret information about counterfeit currency notes, when they reached on the spot they found the appellant there and after due process of giving him the information and search and seizure proceeding, total 07 numbers of counterfeit currency notes of 200 denominations were seized from the appellant, out of which 05 currency notes were of same serial number and 02 counterfeit currency notes were of same serial number. In his cross-examination, 7 this witness has remained firm in saying that from the appellant 07 numbers of counterfeit currency notes have been seized from his possession. Nothing could be extracted from this witness in his cross- examination to make the evidence of this witness doubtful. Merely on the basis of the fact that he being the departmental witness, he cannot be blamed as the interested witness, particularly when no interest or no animosity have been shown by the appellant for his false implication. 11. PW-4/Kailash Yadav is a constable and also a member of search party, who also proved the entire proceeding right from police station up to the place of incident and after search and seizure proceeding returned back to police station. He clearly deposed that from the possession of the appellant seven numbers of counterfeit currency notes of 200 denominations have been seized. In cross-examination, this witness have also remained firm in the search and seizure proceeding. 12. PW-5/Kamala Ram Kerkatta, who is the head constable and posted as reader to the office of Additional Superintendent of Police and he proved the memo/Exhibit P-15 by which the intimation about secret information was sent to the office of Additional Superintendent of Police. 13. PW-6/Banshidhar Yadav was the Sub-Inspector of Police and investigating officer of the case. He deposed in his evidence that on 24.08.2021 he received the secret information that the appellant is trying to trafficking the counterfeit currency notes of 200 denominations and after recorded it in writing in Rojnamcha, he 8 started proceeding for search and seizure. In the process of search and seizure he intimated the secret information to the Additional Superintendent of Police, called the independent witnesses, recorded all the proceeding in the Rojnamcha, proceeded towards the place of incident after giving necessary information about right to search to the appellant. They have searched him and recovered the 07 numbers of counterfeit currency notes of 200 denominations, out of which 05 counterfeit currency notes were of same serial number and 02 counterfeit currency notes were of same serial number. The counterfeit currency notes was got examined by the bank and Currency Note Press, Nasik. The various panchnamas of all the proceedings have also been proved by this witness and he further proved the entire process of investigation up to filing of the charge sheet. In his cross- examination, though he admitted that he could not recorded the timing of the secret information and timing of the notice to the independent witness for their presence, but the same does not makes any difference in the search and seizure proceeding as all other proceedings have been proved by the witnesses in its order. Despite having his detailed cross-examination, nothing significant can be extracted from his evidence to disbelieve the seizure of counterfeit currency notes from the appellant though on some point there is minor discrepancies, but it can be ignored as in such a lengthy process of investigation, the minor discrepancies may takes place, which does not affect the credibility of this witness or the search and seizure proceeding. From the aforesaid quality of evidence, though the witnesses are the official witnesses, but that itself does not makes the 9 evidence inadmissible only on that ground, particularly when the appellant has failed to prove any animosity between him and the police authorities. The said counterfeit currency notes was also examined by the bank official and the Currency Note Press, Nasik and from their report/Exhibit P-14 and P-29, the counterfeit currency notes seized from the appellant was found that it was actually the counterfeit currency notes and therefore the prosecution has duly proved beyond reasonable doubt that the appellant was found in possession of 07 numbers of counterfeit currency notes of 200 denominations, for which for which the learned trial Court has rightly convicted the appellant for the offence under section 489-C of the IPC. 14. So far as the sentence part is concerned, the offence of section 489-C of IPC does not provide any minimum sentence. The appellant presently appears to be 24 years of age and on the date of incident i.e. on 24.08.2021, he was aged about 21 years. 15. In the matter of Mohammad Giasuddin Vs. State of Andhra Pradesh, (1977) 3 SCC 287, Hon'ble Supreme Court has observed that if you are to punish a man retributively, you must injure him. If you are to reform him, you must improve him and, men are not improved by injuries and held in Para 9 as follows: "9. Western jurisprudes and sociologists. from their own angle have struck a like note. Sir Samuel Romilly, critical of the brutal penalties in the then Britain, said in 1817: "The laws of England are written in blood". Alfieri has suggested: 'society prepares the crime, the criminal commits it. George Micodotis, Director of Criminological Research Center, Athens, Greece, maintains that 'crime is the result of the lack of the right kind of education'. If it is thus plain that 10 crime is a pathological aberration. that the criminal can ordinarily be redeemed, that the State has to rehabilitate rather than avenge. The sub-culture that leads to anti-social behaviour has to be countered not by undue cruelty but by reculturisation. Therefore, the focus of interest in penology is the individual, and the goal is salvaging him for society. The infliction of harsh and savage punishment is thus a relic of past and regressive times. The human today views sentencing as a process of reshaping a person who has deteriorated into criminality and the modern community has a primary stake in the rehabilitation of the offender as a means of social defense. We, therefore, consider a therapeutic, rather than an 'in terrorem' outlook, should prevail in our criminal courts. since brutal incarceration of the person merely produces laceration of his mind. In the words of George Bernard Shaw: 'If you are to punish a man retributively, you must injure him. If you are to reform him, you must improve him and, men are not improved by injuries'. We may permit ourselves the liberty to quote from Judge Sir Jeoffrey Streatfield: "If you are going to have anything to do with the criminal Courts, you should see for yourself the conditions under which prisoners serve their sentences." 16. Considering the law laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the aforesaid cases and also in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the present case and the nature of offence committed by the appellant and also the sentence provided for the offence under section 489-C of IPC, we deem it appropriate to reduce the sentence awarded to the appellant for the period already undergone by him, as he already served about 11 ½ months of his jail sentence. 17. Therefore while maintaining the conviction of the appellant for the offence under section 489-C of IPC, his sentence is reduced for the period already undergone by him along with the fine of Rs. 1000/-, in default of payment of fine, he shall undergo further R.I. for one month. The appellant is reported to be in jail. 11 18. Registry is directed to send a copy of this judgment to the concerned Superintendent of Jail where the appellant is undergoing his jail sentence to serve the same on the appellant informing him that he is at liberty to assail the present judgment passed by this Court by preferring an appeal before the Hon’ble Supreme Court with the assistance of High Court Legal Services Committee or the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee. 19. Let a copy of this judgment and the original records be transmitted to the trial Court concerned forthwith for necessary information and compliance. 20. With the aforesaid modification, the appeal is partly allowed. Sd/- Sd/- (Ravindra Kumar Agrawal) (Ramesh Sinha) Judge Chief Justice ved