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(Per : HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE A.M.KAPADIA)
1. These five Criminal Appeals, under Section 374 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (?Sthe Code?? for short) are directed against the judgment and order dated 19.08.2002 rendered in Sessions Case No. 67 of 2001 by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Court No.7, Ahmedabad City, by which the Appellant of all these Appeals, who are original Accused Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 respectively (A-1, A-2, A-4, A-5, A-6, for short) are convicted for commission of offences punishable under Sections 489A, 489B, 489C read with Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code (?SIPC?? for short), and all of them are sentenced to suffer imprisonment for life and fine of Rs.3000/- i.d. RI for 3 months for commission of the offence punishable under Section 489A IPC, imprisonment for life and fine of Rs.3000/- i.d. RI for 3 months for commission of the offence under Section 489B IPC, RI for 5 years and fine of Rs.1500/- i.d. RI for 1 ½ months for the offence under Section 489C IPC and RI for 6 months and fine of Rs.1000/- i.d. RI for 2 months for commission of the offence punishable under Section 120B IPC. It is also ordered that all the sentences, imposed upon the accused persons, shall run concurrently.
19. It has been held by this Court that A-1, A-2, A-4 and A-6 were found with fake currency notes. However, the question that requires to be considered by this Court is whether the trial court has rightly convicted them for commission of the offences under Sections 489A, 489B and 489C read with Section 120B IPC?
20. So far as Section 489A IPC is concerned, it is a penal provision which provides that whoever counterfeits, or knowingly performs any part of the process of counterfeiting, any currency-note or bank-note, shall be punished whereas Section 489B is a penal provision which provides that whoever sells to, or buys or receives from, any other person, or otherwise traffics in or uses as genuine, any forged or counterfeit currency-note or bank-note, knowing or having reason to believe the same to be forged or counterfeit, shall be punished and Section 489C is a penal provision which provides that whoever has in his possession any forged or counterfeit currency-note or bank note, knowing or having reason to believe the same to be forged or counterfeit and intending to use the same as genuine or that it may be used as genuine, shall be punished.
21. The prosecution has tried to justify framing of the charges under Sections 489A and 489B read with Section 120B IPC and also the conviction recorded for the said offences against the accused by contending that all the accused made confessional statements before the police officers while they were intercepted and apprehended and on the basis of the confessional statements, the prosecution could find out the entire link of circumstances and, therefore, the conviction recorded under Sections 489A, 489B and 489C IPC read with section 120B IPC is justified.
28.1. Since A-5 was not found with any counterfeit currency notes, conviction and sentence recorded by the trial court against him for the offences under Sections 489A, 489B, 489C read with Section 120B IPC deserves to be quashed and set aside and the appeal filed by him deserves to be allowed.
29. For the foregoing reasons, Criminal Appeal No. 868 of 2002 filed by A-5, Noor Mahmed alias Bhaiyya Yakub Saiyed is allowed. The judgment and order of conviction and sentence recorded by the trial Court against him for the offences under Sections 489A, 489B and 489C read with Section 120B IPC is quashed and set aside. The jail authorities are directed to release him from jail forthwith if his presence is not required in connection with any other case.