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PW17 Sh Surendra Singla, Officer, PNB, Lalru Main, District Mohali, Punjab produced certified copy of the account opening form alongwith specimen signatures and the statement of account for the period w.e.f 01.09.2006 of account no. 0751000100203438 in the name of Baljeet Singh which on State vs. Vs Baljeet Singh & Ors.

FIR No. 77/07 PS Special Cell Page no. 18 of 59 record are Ex.PW17/A, Ex.PW17/B and Ex. PW17/C respectively coupled with the forwarding letter of the Manager Sh. T. R. Gulati which is Ex. PW8/C. (After recording PW 17, inadvertently, the next witness was given number PW19 instead of PW18) PW19 ASI Satender Singh has proved the copy of interception order pertaining to mobile number including phone number 9876933745 as Ex. PW 19/A. He has also proved the copy of 30 interception orders as Ex. PW 35/B1 to B26 and Ex. PW 36/C1 to C4.

FIR No. 77/07 PS Special Cell Page no. 24 of 59 written information received from the intelligence agency vide letter Mark 35/X to the effect that efforts were being made to revive militancy in Punjab, on 19.12.2007, he prepared rukka Ex. PW35/A on the basis of which present FIR Ex. PW36/A was registered.

He has deposed that on 04.10.2008, he handed over 26 interception orders of phones to Insp. R. K. Singh (PW16) who seized the same vide memo Ex. PW16/P and also on 07.01.2008 which were seized vide memo Ex. PW16/Q1. He has proved the interception orders as Ex. PW 35/B1 to B26 and Ex. PW35/C­1 to C4. PW35 also handed over the transcripts of important intercepted conversation between accused Trilochan Singh and accused Baljeet Singh @ Pahu, Kulvinderjeet Singh and Bikkar Singh @ Bant Singh to Insp. R. K. Singh (PW16) who seized the same vide memo Ex. PW35/D. He has proved the transcript of intercepted voice of co­accused Baljeet Singh @ Pahu with Kulvinderjeet Singh comprising seven calls in folder Q1 as Ex. PW35/E1, the transcript of intercepted voice of accused Trilochan Singh and accused Baljeet Singh @ Pahu comprising seven calls in folder Q2 as Ex. PW35/E2, the transcript of intercepted voice of accused Baljeet Singh @ Pahu with Bikkar Singh @ Bant Singh comprising eight calls in folder Q3 as Ex. PW35/E3 and the transcript of intercepted voice (special words) used by co­accused Baljeet Singh @ Pahu during his conversation running into two pages as Ex. PW35/E4 (colly.).

In the case at hand, the requisite certificate u/s 65B of Indian Evidence act fails to specify from which device the impugned intercepted conversation was downloaded by the prosecution witness. Further, Insp. Pankaj Sood (PW35) has admitted in his cross­examination that the conversation was stored in various computers. Now, in the absence of any particulars regarding the identity of the device where the intercepted conversation was stored and subsequently downloaded, the very identity of the device becomes shrouded in doubt and the very sanctity of the evidence becomes tainted. Hon'ble Bombay High Court in the matter of Arshad Hussain v. State of Maharashtra, 2018 SCC OnLine Bom 1390 while upholding the acquittal of the accused on account of discrepancies in downloading the intercepted conversations in the CD has observed as under :­ "...After the conversations were intercepted, they were recorded on 3 CDs. The CD no. 1 was pertaining to the phone number attributed to Salauddin. The CD no. 2 was in respect of the phone number attributed to the accused no. 2 and the third CD was in respect of the intercepted conversations in respect of the phone number of the accused no. 4. This witness heard the conversations and dictated the transcripts on 17/01/2006. After the transcripts were prepared, the CDs were kept in a separate cover. Significantly, this witness, in the cross­examination, has admitted that he did not remember the date on which these CDs were prepared. He further admitted that the expert technician recorded the conversations in the computer and the communication was directly recorded on the hard disc. The prosecution has not State vs. Vs Baljeet Singh & Ors.