- (1.) The appellant was tried in the Court of Additional Sessions Judge, 2nd Fast Track Court, Kolkata, in Sessions Case No. 13 of 2004 on a charge for having committed an offence under Sections 489B/489C/489D and 420 of Indian Penal code. By judgment and order dated 30th August 2005 and 31st August 2005, the learned Trial Court found the appellant-accused guilty of having committed the offences, for which charged and sentenced him to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 10 years and to pay fine of Rs. 10,000/-, in default to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 6 months for the offence punishable under Section 489B of Indian Penal Code, and to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 5 years and to pay fine of Rs. 5,000/- ,in default to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 3 months for an offence under Section 489C of Indian Penal code and also, to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 10 years and to pay fine of Rs. 10,000/-, in default to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 6 months for the offence punishable under Section 489D of the Indian Penal Code and further to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 5 years and to pay fine of Rs. 5000/-, in default to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 3 months for the offence under Section 420 of Indian Penal Code. All the substantive sentences were directed to run concurrently.
(2.) In a nutshell, the prosecution case can be summed up as under: One Siddharth Banthia (P.W.11) runs a travel agency business under the name and style of Global Connexions at 196, Old China Bazar Street, first floor, Room No. 30, Kolkata-700 001. In the course of his business he arranges air tickets, visa and foreign exchange for his clients. The appellant-accused Monojit Raju Sood was known to him as a client for the last 2 years. On 5.10.2003 at about 11.00 hrs., he came to the office of the complainant and asked him to arrange 5 air tickets , foreign exchange of 10,000 US$ for himself and 4 others for traveling to Bangkok on 9.10.2003. It is the case of the prosecution that the complainant arranged 10,000 US$ from his known licence holder, M/S N.P.R Finance Limited, and also arranged for 5 air tickets for the appellant-accused and others on the assurance that he will be paid sum of Rs.4,00,000/- immediately and balance would be given after a day. On 7.10.2003 around 2 p.m. the complainant met the accused at the crossing of Kid Street and Sudder Street. The appellant-accused handed over 4 sealed bundles of currency notes each of denomination of Rs. 1,000/-, against the air tickets and foreign exchange. On his return to the office the complainant realised that except for the G.C. notes of the denomination of Rs. 1,000/- on the top of 4 bundles of G.C. notes, all other remaining currency notes appeared to be forged. Therefore, the complainant called the appellantaccused on his mobile Cell No. 9831071444 and informed him that he had given him forged currency notes. However, he was assured that the appellant-accused on reaching at the Super Guest House at Free School Street, (where he was staying) in half-an-hour would settle the same. Accordingly, the complainant went to the said Guest House and waited for the appellant-accused for 2 hours but he did not turn up and thereafter came to know that the appellant-accused had already checked out at 12.30 p.m. with all his belongings. The complainant thereafter realized that he had been cheated by the appellant-accused who dishonestly induced him to deliver 5 air tickets and 10,000 US$ against forged currency notes of Rs. 3,96,000/- and by not paying the balance amount of Rs. 50,000/-. Therefore, on the next day, i.e. 8.10.2003, the complainant lodged a written complaint to the Deputy Commissioner of Police who referred the matter to the Officer-in- charge of the Anti Cheating Section of Detective Department, Kolkata Police, Lalbazar. The said complaint was treated as F.I.R. and came to be registered as New Market P.S. Case No. 313 dated 8.10.2003 under Sections 489B/489C/489D/ 420 and 120B I.P.C against the appellant-accused by S.I. P.C. Ghosh. In the course of investigation, the appellant-accused was arrested from the house of Rajpal Singh, his brother-in-law, from Ludhiana and the Investigation Officer was able to seize a sum of 4,000 US$ from the residence of Rajpal Singh. The Police Officer recorded the statement of persons whose passports were given for obtaining ticket and foreign exchange by the appellantaccused, all from Ludhiana, Punjab. In the course of investigation, the police was also able to seize All-in-One Printer, Scanner and Copier Machine HP 1210 from the house of Ramji Das ( P.W.7). The G.C. notes were sent to the expert of currency notes placed at Nasik, so also the machine HP 1210. Police recorded the statement of Bank Officials concerned with bank slips which were found with the fake currency notes. After completion of the investigations police submitted charge-sheet against the appellant-accused on 20.1.2004 for having committed offence punishable under Sections 489B/489C/489D and 420 of the Indian Penal Code; the supplementary charge-sheet came to be filed on 18.2.2004. The case was committed to the City Sessions Court, Kolkata ; the appellant accused pleaded not guilty to the charges framed against him and claimed to be tried. It was the case of the appellant-accused that he has been falsely implicated in the case by the complainant in order to avoid payment of loan taken from him from time to time and though on 4.10.2003 the appellant-accused had given 5 passports including that of him to the complainant to arrange visa for Australia and for Thailand but the complainant could not arrange the same and falsely implicated him in this case. The prosecution examined in all 22 witnesses on its behalf. In defence, the appellant-accused examined the Bank Official of UCO Bank, Lower Circular Road Branch. On conclusion of the trial, he was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to undergo various terms of punishment which is subject matter of challenge in this appeal.
(3.) Mr. Sekhar Basu, learned Counsel on behalf of the appellant-accused, submitted that the appellant-accused does not dispute that he had given 5 passports including that of his own to the complainant Siddharth Banthia (P.W.11) for arranging visa for Australia and for the 4 passport holders visa for Thailand. However, P.W.11 could not arrange the same and on the contrary, quarreled with the appellant and in order to dupe the appellant-accused of the sum of Rs. 1,00,000/- taken as loan and lodged a false complaint against the appellant-accused. It is submitted that on 13.10.2003 the police accompanied by P.W.11 had come to Ludhiana at the house of sister of the appellant-accused, from where he was arrested and a sum of 4500 US$ were recovered from residence of his sister and, therefore, a false case is made out against the appellant-accused by the complainant. It is further submitted that the complainant instead of lodging complaint at the Police Station directly approached the Deputy Commissioner of Police who is well-known to the complainant and at whose instance the complaint was treated as F.I.R. and false case came to be registered against the appellant.;