Punjab-Haryana High Court
Beena Rani @ Veena Rani @ Beena Devi vs State Of Haryana on 9 December, 2014
Crl.Misc.No.14169 of 2014 and
Crl.Appeal No.S-3003-SB-2010 1
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH
Crl.Misc.No.14169 of 2014 and
Crl.Appeal No.S-3003-SB-2010
Date of decision : 09.12.2014
Beena Rani @ Veena Rani @ Beena Devi .....Appellant(s)
Versus
State of Haryana ....Respondent(s)
CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE DARSHAN SINGH
1. Whether reporters of local newspapers may be allowed to
see judgment?
2. To be referred to reporters or not?
3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest?
Present: Ms. Kiran Balal Jain, Advocate for the appellant.
Mr. Manuj Nagrath, DAG, Haryana.
****
DARSHAN SINGH, J.
1. The present appeal has been preferred against the judgment dated 9.10.2010 passed by the then learned Sessions Judge, Yamuna Nagar vide which the accused appellant has been held guilty and convicted for the offences punishable under Sections 489-B and 489-C of the Indian Penal Code (in short 'the IPC') and the order of sentence dated 11.10.2010 vide which the appellant has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of seven years and to pay a fine of ` 1,000/- for the offence punishable under Section 489-B IPC and in default of payment of fine, she was PUSHPINDER SAINI 2014.12.16 10:57 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document High Court Chandigarh Crl.Misc.No.14169 of 2014 and Crl.Appeal No.S-3003-SB-2010 2 ordered to further undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of one month. She was further sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of three years for the offence punishable under Section 489-C IPC. Both the sentences were ordered to run concurrently.
2. The brief facts of the case giving rise to this prosecution are that on 4.8.2009, SI Bal Kishan of CIA Staff, Yamuna Nagar along with other police employees were present at ITI Chowk, Yamuna Nagar, for patrol and crime checking. He received a secret information that accused appellant-Beena Rani used to indulge in dealing with counterfeit notes and she was apprehended with counterfeit notes earlier also. It was also informed that on that day, she would go to the shop of Kalra Hardware, Camp, Yamuna Nagar for using the counterfeit notes at the time of purchase of hardware from the said shop and if a trap is laid, she could be apprehended along with counterfeit notes. SI Bal Kishan, along with other police employees reached near the shop of Kalra Hardware and started keeping a vigil there. After about 10 minutes, the accused appellant came there on a red coloured scooty having a black coloured bag from Vishwakarma Chowk side. She parked her scooty in front of Kalra Hardware shop and purchased some material from the said shop. When she was handing over the money to the shopkeeper after taking out the same from her bag, the police party went to the shop and apprehended the appellant. Her bag was also checked in the presence of the shopkeeper of Kalra Hardware. It was found PUSHPINDER SAINI 2014.12.16 10:57 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document High Court Chandigarh Crl.Misc.No.14169 of 2014 and Crl.Appeal No.S-3003-SB-2010 3 containing 31 notes of ` 500/- denomination each including the one which she was in the process of handing over the shopkeeper. All those 31 currency notes were put in the same bag and was kept in the sealed parcel bearing seal impression 'BS' and was taken into possession vide memo Ex.PN. The Investigating Officer prepared the site plan of occurrence Ex.PO. The Investigating Officer sent the ruqa Ex.PC to the police station on the basis of which FIR Ex.PC/1 was registered.
3. On 7.8.2009, on interrogation, appellant-Beena Rani suffered disclosure statement Ex.PD. In pursuance thereof, she got recovered 168 fake currency notes of denomination of ` 500/- each from a box lying in her house. The said currency notes were put into a plastic bag and converted into a sealed parcel with the seal bearing impression 'HR' and were taken into possession vide memo Ex.PE. The appellant in her disclosure statement also disclosed the name of her co-accused. PW-9 SI Bal Kishan obtained the production warrants of co-accused Mohd. Aslam, Ram Balaf and Raja Ram. On 24.8.2009, Mohd. Aslam and Ram Balaf were associated in the investigation and on interrogation, they suffered the disclosure statements Ex.PH and PJ respectively. Co-accused Raja Ram was also associated in the investigation of the case on 27.8.2009. The aforesaid currency notes were sent to Forensic Science Laboratory, Haryana, Madhuban Karnal, for examination and on completion of the investigation, the report under Section 173 Cr.P.C was presented before the Court.
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4. The case was committed to the Court of Sessions for trial by the learned Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class, Yamuna Nagar. The present appellant and her co-accused were charge-sheeted for the offences punishable under Sections 489-B/489-C/120-B IPC to which they pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.
5. In order to substantiate its case, prosecution examined as many as 10 witnesses.
6. When examined under Section 313 Cr.P.C, the appellant pleaded false implication and that she is innocent. No evidence was led by the appellant in her defence.
7. After appreciating the evidence on record and the contentions raised by the learned counsel for the parties, the learned trial Court held guilty and convicted appellant-Beena Rani for the offences punishable under Sections 489-B and 489-C IPC whereas his co-accused Ram Balaf @ Ram Balaf Chauhan, Mohd. Aslam and Raja Ram were acquitted. The appellant was awarded the sentences as mentioned in the upper part of the judgment.
8. Aggrieved with the aforesaid judgment of conviction and order of sentence, the present appeal has been preferred.
9. During the pendency of the present appeal, the appellant has also moved an application bearing Crl.Misc.No.35589 of 2014 under Section 427 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for passing the order of concurrent running of sentences awarded to the appellant in two cases bearing FIR No.176 dated 25.4.2008 under Section 489-C IPC, Police Station City, Yamuna Nagar and the present case. PUSHPINDER SAINI 2014.12.16 10:57 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document High Court Chandigarh Crl.Misc.No.14169 of 2014 and Crl.Appeal No.S-3003-SB-2010 5
10. Initiating the arguments, learned counsel for the appellant contended that it is alleged that the appellant was apprehended on the basis of secret information but no independent witness has been associated in the investigation which is fatal to the prosecution case. To support her contentions, she relied upon cases State of Punjab versus Kashmir Singh 2002(3) Criminal Court Cases 270. Even the shopkeeper of Kalra Hardware has not been examined.
11. She further contended that as per the case of the prosecution, the accused had purchased the articles from the Kalra Hardware and was going to make the payment by using the fake currency notes but no such article has been taken into possession by the Investigating Officer. It is also the admitted case of the prosecution that accused has not handed over any fake currency note to the shopkeeper of Kalra Hardware then where is the question of using the fake currency.
12. She further contended that mere possession of the fake currency notes will not constitute any offence. The prosecution was required to establish that the appellant kept in her possession the fake currency notes knowing or having reason to believe the same to be counterfeit currency, meaning thereby it was incumbent upon the prosecution to establish the 'mens rea' on the part of the appellant but the evidence of the prosecution is totally lacking in this regard. Thus, even the ingredients of the offence are not made out. To support her contentions, she relied upon cases Umashanker PUSHPINDER SAINI 2014.12.16 10:57 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document High Court Chandigarh Crl.Misc.No.14169 of 2014 and Crl.Appeal No.S-3003-SB-2010 6 versus State of Chhattisgarh 2001(4) RCR (Criminal) 444, Ramlath versus Nasar and others 2009(4) RCR (Criminal) 921, Karunakaran Nadar versus State of Kerala 2000(4) RCR (Criminal 154 and S. Chandran versus State 2001(3) RCR (Criminal) 203.
13. She further contended that there are material contradictions in the statements of the prosecution witnesses which totally render the prosecution case doubtful. The seal after use also has not been handed over to the independent witness. All the documents bear the FIR number which shows that the documents have been fabricated while sitting in the police station.
14. She further contended that the appellant was earlier convicted in case FIR No.176 dated 25.4.2008 under Section 489-C IPC, Police Station City, Yamuna Nagar and was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of 5 years and to pay a fine of ` 5,000/-. The appellant has filed the appeal bearing Crl.Appeal No.S-2585-SB of 2009 against the conviction which stands admitted. Subsequently, the appellant was convicted in the present case and she has filed the present appeal against the conviction. She was arrested in this case on 4.8.2009 and was later on convicted in the earlier case i.e. FIR No.176/2008. She was already in custody in the present case. The appellant has already completed the sentence awarded to her in case FIR No.176/2008. The Jail Authorities has started counting the period of the sentence of the present case after the completion of the sentence in the PUSHPINDER SAINI 2014.12.16 10:57 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document High Court Chandigarh Crl.Misc.No.14169 of 2014 and Crl.Appeal No.S-3003-SB-2010 7 previous case w.e.f 13.7.2013. She contended that as the appellant was already in custody when she was convicted in the present case, so, sentences awarded in both the cases should be ordered to run concurrently. To support her contentions, she relied upon cases Raja Ram Parshad versus State of Haryana (Crl.Appeal No.S-1263-SB of 2009) decided 25.7.2013, Baljinder Singh versus State of Haryana and another 2007(2) RCR (Criminal) 207, Sameer Ahmad and others versus State of Haryana 2010(2) RCR (Criminal) 612, Narinderpal Singh versus State of Punjab 2007(2) RCR (Criminal) 405, Mohan Bhanudas Mohite versus State of Maharashtra 2004 (4) RCR (Criminal) 310, Zacharia versus State 2011(3) RCR (Criminal) 803, Kashmiri versus State of Haryana and another 2012 (5) RCR (Criminal) 390 and Jang Singh versus State of Punjab 2008(1) RCR (Criminal) 323.
15. On the other hand, learned State counsel contended that Vijay Kumar @ Brij Mohan Kalra, the shopkeeper, was given up by the prosecution as having been won over by the accused. He contended that there is nothing to discard the testimonies of the official witnesses. Their testimonies are cogent, consistent and reliable. The appellant has not been able to show that the police officials had any animus to falsely implicate her. He contended that minor contradictions are bound to occur with the lapse of time even in the statements of truthful witnesses. There is no material contradictions in the statements of the prosecution witnesses which can go to the root of the case.
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16. He further contended that the accused had gone to the shop of Kalra Hardware. She purchased the articles and was going to make the payment by using the fake currency notes. She has been found in possession of 199 fake currency notes which is a huge quantity. It is not the case where the appellant came in possession of 2 or 3 fake currency notes by accident but the possession of so much fake currency notes clearly establishes the deliberate and intentional act on the part of the appellant. Thus, it is established that she has kept in her possession so much fake currency notes knowing the same to be counterfeit and the ingredients of the offence are fully established.
17. He further contended that the appellant has been convicted twice for the same type of offence within a short span. Thus, she does not deserve any leniency and is not entitled to have the order for concurrent running of sentences passed in both the cases.
18. I have duly considered the aforesaid contentions.
19. No doubt, the accused appellant has been apprehended by PW-9 SI Bal Kishan on the basis of secret information. The Investigating Officer has associated Vijay Kumar Kalra, the shopkeeper, in the investigation of the case at the time of the first recovery of 31 fake currency notes from the possession of the appellant. However, this witness has not been produced in the witness box by the learned Public Prosecutor as having been won over by the accused and was given up as such by him vide statement PUSHPINDER SAINI 2014.12.16 10:57 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document High Court Chandigarh Crl.Misc.No.14169 of 2014 and Crl.Appeal No.S-3003-SB-2010 9 dated 10.2.2010. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in case Appa Bai and another versus State of Gujarat, AIR 1988 Supreme Court 696 has laid down that the prosecution story cannot be thrown out on the ground that an independent witness has not been examined. The Hon'ble Apex Court further observed that the civilized people, are generally insensitive when a crime is committed even in their presence and they withdraw from the victims side. They keep themselves away from the Courts unless it is inevitable. Moreover, they think the crime like a civil dispute between two individuals and do not involve themselves in it. The same ratio of law has been laid down by this Court in case Harminder Singh versus State of Haryana, 2009 (2) RCR (Criminal) 113.
20. At the time of second recovery i.e. recording the disclosure statement of the appellant Ex.PD dated 7.8.2009 and consequent recovery thereof also, no independent witness has been associated but that by itself is no ground to discard the prosecution case. The Hon'ble Apex Court in case State Govt. of NCT of Delhi versus Sunil, 2001 (1) RCR (Criminal) 56 has laid down as under:
"Hence it is a fallacious impression that when recovery is effected pursuant to any statement made by the accused the document prepared by the Investigating Officer contemporaneous with such recovery must necessarily be attested by independent witnesses. Of course, if any such statement PUSHPINDER SAINI 2014.12.16 10:57 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document High Court Chandigarh Crl.Misc.No.14169 of 2014 and Crl.Appeal No.S-3003-SB-2010 10 leads to recovery of any article it is open to the Investigating Officer to take the signature of any person present at that time, on the document prepared for such recovery. But if no witness was present or if no person had agreed to affix his signature on the document, it is difficult to lay down, as a proposition of law, that the document so prepared by the police officer must be treated as tainted and the recovery evidence unreliable. The court has to consider the evidence of the Investigating Officer who deposed to the fact of recovery based on the statement elicited from the accused on its own worth."
21. A Division Bench of this Court in case Manohar Lal and another versus State of Haryana 2005 (2) RCR (Criminal) 431 has laid down that the wordly people have become self centered and they watch their own interest even in doing the public act. There are very few people who come forward for social cause and are prepared to sacrifice for the larger interest of society. Thus, in view of the aforesaid ratio of law laid down in the cases referred above, mere this fact that the Investigating Officer has not associated any independent witness at the time of recording the disclosure statement of the appellant and effecting the recovery, is itself no ground to create any dent in the prosecution case. Moreover, there PUSHPINDER SAINI 2014.12.16 10:57 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document High Court Chandigarh Crl.Misc.No.14169 of 2014 and Crl.Appeal No.S-3003-SB-2010 11 is no material on record to establish that the police officials had any motive or animus for the false implication of the appellant.
22. Case State of Punjab versus Kashmir Singh (supra) relied upon by learned counsel for the appellant is of no help to her in view of the aforementioned authoritative pronouncements of Hon'ble the Apex Court. Moreover, case State of Punjab versus Kashmir Singh (supra) was an appeal against the acquittal. Mere non-joining of the independent witness was not the only reason for acquittal rather the statements of the official witnesses were also discrepant.
23. The Investigating Officer has not taken into possession the articles purchased by the appellant from Kalra Hardware that is a lapse on the part of the Investigating Officer and is not going to adversely affect the veracity of the prosecution case on the point of recovery of the fake currency notes from the possession of the appellant.
24. The plea raised by the learned counsel for the appellant that there are material contradictions in the statements of the prosecution witnesses is off the record. Learned counsel for the appellant has not been able to point out any material contradiction in the statements of the material witnesses of the prosecution. Rather, on appraisal of the testimonies, they have given the consistent and cogent version on all the material aspects of the case. As per the statement of PW-9 Bal Kishan, the initial Investigating Officer of the case, he had received the secret information against the appellant that she indulges in dealing with the counterfeit currency notes and PUSHPINDER SAINI 2014.12.16 10:57 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document High Court Chandigarh Crl.Misc.No.14169 of 2014 and Crl.Appeal No.S-3003-SB-2010 12 on the date of occurrence, she will go to the shop of Kalra Hardware, Camp, Radaur Road, Yamuna Nagar for using the said currency notes. Thus, he laid the trap. The appellant came after about 10 minutes on a red colour scooty having black coloured bag. She purchased some articles from the said shop and when she was going to hand over the money to the shopkeeper, the police party reached the shop and apprehended her red handed. One currency note which she was handing over to the shopkeeper and 30 currency notes recovered from her bag were taken into possession by PW-9 SI Bal Kishan. The testimony of SI Bal Kishan is fully corroborated by PW- 10 SI Ran Singh who was also associated in the raiding party.
25. Similarly, PW-8 SI Hari Ram, the subsequent Investigating Officer, has interrogated the appellant and she suffered the disclosure statement Ex.PD and in pursuance thereof, she got recovered 168 fake currency notes of the denomination of ` 500/- each. The testimony of PW-8 SI Hari Ram on the point of disclosure statement and recovery has been fully corroborated by ASI Ranbir Singh.
26. All the above four witnesses have been cross-examined at length by the learned defence counsel but they have not been able to shatter their testimonies.
27. The aforesaid currency notes were sent to Forensic Science Laboratory, Madhuban for examination. PW-1 Sh.Gulshan Rai, Deputy Director, FSL, Haryana Madhuban, Karnal, who has examined the aforesaid currency notes, deposed that after careful PUSHPINDER SAINI 2014.12.16 10:57 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document High Court Chandigarh Crl.Misc.No.14169 of 2014 and Crl.Appeal No.S-3003-SB-2010 13 and thorough examination of all the currency notes, he was of the opinion that all these notes were not genuine currency notes of denomination ` 500/- each and were counterfeit notes. He proved his report Ex.PA to this effect.
28. Thus, from the aforesaid evidence, it is established that 199 fake currency notes of the denomination of ` 500/- each were recovered from the possession of the present appellant.
29. There is absolutely no dispute with the proposition of law that in order to establish the ingredients of the offence, mere possession of the currency notes is not sufficient. In order to bring the case within the mischief of Section 489-C, it has further to be proved that the accused kept the said currency notes in his possession knowing or having the reason to believe the same to be forged or counterfeit and intending to use the same as genuine. Section 489-B is attracted when a person sells to, or buys or receives from, any other person, or otherwise traffics in or uses as genuine, any forged or counterfeit currency note knowing or having reason to believe the same to be forged or counterfeit. In the instant case, it has been categorically mentioned in the FIR that earlier also appellant was found in possession of the counterfeit currency notes. As per the statements of the prosecution witnesses, the prosecutrix came to the shop of Kalra Hardware and after purchasing the articles, she was going to make the payment by using the fake currency note of denomination of ` 500/- and 30 fake currency notes of the same denomination were recovered from her purse. PUSHPINDER SAINI 2014.12.16 10:57 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document High Court Chandigarh Crl.Misc.No.14169 of 2014 and Crl.Appeal No.S-3003-SB-2010 14 Further, on the basis of her disclosure statement, 168 fake currency notes of ` 500/- denomination each were recovered kept concealed by her in a box in her house, meaning thereby she was found in possession of 199 fake currency notes of ` 500/- denomination each. Thus, she kept in custody huge quantity of fake currency notes. It is not the case that few currency notes came to be in possession of the appellant by mere accident or chance. The possession of so much currency notes clearly indicates the intentional and deliberate act on her part. In her statement under Section 313 Cr.P.C., the appellant has simply pleaded that she has been falsely implicated by the police at the instance of her previous husband. It is not the case of the accused appellant that she was not having any knowledge that the currency notes recovered from her possession were fake rather she has simply pleaded false implication.
30. In such type of offences, in order to establish the knowledge of the accused, it is very difficult to produce the direct evidence. In order to arrive at conclusion, the Court can take into consideration the attending circumstances. In the instant case, it has already mentioned that the appellant was found in possession of 199 fake currency notes. She was apprehended while using the said currency notes by purchasing the articles from the shop of Kalra Hardware. She has not given any explanation in her statement under Section 313 Cr.P.C as to how she came into possession of so much currency notes. Thus, there is no escape from the conclusion that the appellant has kept in her possession the aforesaid PUSHPINDER SAINI 2014.12.16 10:57 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document High Court Chandigarh Crl.Misc.No.14169 of 2014 and Crl.Appeal No.S-3003-SB-2010 15 counterfeit currency notes knowing fully well that those are the fake currency notes. She also intended to use the said currency notes by making purchases from the shop of Kalra Hardware and was caught red handed in that shop making the payment of the articles by using the said currency notes. All these facts clearly fulfill the ingredients of the offences punishable under Section 489-B as well as Section 489-C IPC.
31. Cases relied upon by the learned counsel for the appellant on this aspect of the case are quite distinguishable on facts. In case Ramlath versus Nasar and others (supra), the fake currency notes were handed over to the petitioner by her husband for making the payment in the bank. So, the petitioner had received the fake currency notes from her husband and she had no reason to believe that her husband will hand over her the fake currency notes. In case Karunakaran Nadar versus State of Kerala (supra), only 15 currency notes of denomination of ` 20/- were recovered. Moreover, those currency notes were fancy currency notes. In all the genuine currency notes, the 'Reserve Bank of India' is mentioned but in those currency notes, 'Reserve Baby of India' was mentioned and mere look at such currency notes would not convince any person of average intelligence that those are the counterfeit notes. In case S. Chandran versus State (supra), the recovery was of only 5 fake currency notes of ` 100/- each and in case Uma Shankar versus State of Chhattisgarh (supra), only one fake currency note of the denomination of ` 100/- was recovered. Such small quantity of the PUSHPINDER SAINI 2014.12.16 10:57 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document High Court Chandigarh Crl.Misc.No.14169 of 2014 and Crl.Appeal No.S-3003-SB-2010 16 fake currency notes can even come into possession of a person by mere accident or chance and cannot establish the 'mens rea' but here in the instant case, the 'mens rea' is writ large in view of the huge number of the counterfeit currency notes recovered from the possession of the appellant.
32. Thus, the conviction of the appellant recorded by the learned trial Court is well founded and does not warrant any interference by this Court.
33. The appellant has also filed Crl.Misc.No.35589 of 2014 under Section 427 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for passing the order of concurrent running of the sentences awarded to her in two cases i.e. Case FIR No.176 dated 25.4.2008 under Section 489-C IPC, P.S. City Yamuna Nagar and the present case. Learned counsel for the appellant has also relied upon the case law on this aspect. A Full Bench of this Court in case Jang Singh versus State of Punjab (supra) has laid down that the power to order the sentence to run concurrently can be exercised by the trial Court or by the Appellate Court or by the Revisional Court at the time of exercising appellate or revisional jurisdiction as well. It has been further laid down by the Full Bench that while exercising such discretion, the relevant factors generally the nature or character of the offences committed, the prior criminal record of the offender, his character, age and sex, ghastly nature of the crime and the offender being habitual would also be the factor which can be relevantly taken into consideration. So, it is a discretionary relief PUSHPINDER SAINI 2014.12.16 10:57 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document High Court Chandigarh Crl.Misc.No.14169 of 2014 and Crl.Appeal No.S-3003-SB-2010 17 which can be extended to the convicts in the deserving cases. The appellant cannot claim this concession as a matter of right.
34. In the instant case, even as per the facts mentioned in the criminal misc. application, the appellant was previously convicted for the offence punishable under Section 489-C i.e. on account of having been found in possession of the fake currency notes. During the pendency of the previous case, she was apprehended in the present case. It shows that the appellant has no remorse of the crime committed by her and has repeated the same offence within a short span. The possession and using the fake currency note is a serious offence. The presence and use of counterfeit money in the market can affect the national and global economy in a considerable manner, as it deceives the people and they tend to lose confidence in their money and their nation's economy which is a worst thing that can happen to any country. The circulation of the counterfeit currency can have various adverse effects on the economy of the country and can pose a threat to the nation. The fake currency leads to devaluation of the currency and inflation. With the circulation of the currency in the market, the purchasing power of the people increases which results in rising prices. The fake currency also give rise to the grave problem of black marketing. The inflation, debasement of currency and black marketing prevalent in a particular country can benefit some other country which may dump the inferior quality of the goods in the market, obviously at the cheaper rate. The greatest consequence of circulation of the PUSHPINDER SAINI 2014.12.16 10:57 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document High Court Chandigarh Crl.Misc.No.14169 of 2014 and Crl.Appeal No.S-3003-SB-2010 18 counterfeit money is that people tend to lose faith in the economy of their country and the money that they hold. So, in order to avoid any kind of encounter with counterfeit money, they may start making the demands of their payments to be made in some other more stable currency. This may destabilize the overall economy of the country. There are instances wherein the nations tried to destabilize the economies of their political and economic rivals by counterfeiting their currency and transporting it into their market. This not only weakens them economically but also socially and politically. So, in such type of cases, the discretion to order the concurrent running of sentences should not be exercised. All the cases relied upon by the learned counsel for the appellant on this aspect are not applicable to the case in hand as none of that case relates to the economic offence like the counterfeit currency. Thus, the criminal misc. application moved by the appellant is without any merit.
35. However, keeping in view the fact that the appellant is a lady of about 42 years of age, she is having three children, her husband is also in jail in some other case, there is nobody to look after her children and they are living at the mercy of their relatives, some reduction in the sentence may be justified.
36. Thus, keeping in view my aforesaid discussion, the conviction of the appellant recorded by the learned trial Court for the offences punishable under Sections 489-B and 489-C IPC is well founded and hereby confirmed. However, the sentence of the appellant for the offence punishable under Section 489-B IPC is PUSHPINDER SAINI 2014.12.16 10:57 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document High Court Chandigarh Crl.Misc.No.14169 of 2014 and Crl.Appeal No.S-3003-SB-2010 19 reduced from rigorous imprisonment for a period of 7 years to rigorous imprisonment for a period of 6 years. There will be no change in the remaining sentences. With this modification in the order of sentence, the present appeal has no merit.
37. Thus, the present appeal as well as the Crl.Misc.No.35589 of 2014 are hereby dismissed.
December 09, 2014 ( DARSHAN SINGH )
ps JUDGE
PUSHPINDER SAINI
2014.12.16 10:57
I attest to the accuracy and
integrity of this document
High Court Chandigarh
Crl.Misc.No.14169 of 2014 and
Crl.Appeal No.S-3003-SB-2010 20
PUSHPINDER SAINI
2014.12.16 10:57
I attest to the accuracy and
integrity of this document
High Court Chandigarh