MALIK HAQ NAWAZ, J.---The instant Criminal Appeal No.16/2019 has been preferred against the judgment/order passed by learned Additional Sessions Judge Gilgit, whereby after full fledge trial, the appellant was adjudged guilty and was awarded 2 months rigorous imprisonment under section 489-C, P.P.C.
2. The appellant being aggrieved from the said judgment/order has filed the instant appeal, with the prayer that he be acquitted from the charges.
3. The learned counsel for the appellant contended that the basic ingredients of section 489-C are completely lacking as there has been no worth reliance evidence on record that the appellant was in the knowledge of the facts that the notes, he was carrying were forged and secondly that he was intending to use these notes as a genuine one. The learned counsel relied on 1988 PCr.LJ 1553, 1996 MLD 204, 2000 PCr.LJ 1461, 2000 PCr.LJ 1919, 2011 PCr.LJ 172 and 2004 MLD 145.
4. The learned Dy. Advocate General opposed the appeal and contended that the appellant was arrested by the local police and on search 02 notes of Rs. 1000/- denomination were recovered from his possession, in presence of two marginal witnesses, who when appeared in witness box, fully supported the prosecution case.
The judgment of learned trial Court is well reasoned and has been handed down after due application of judicial mind.
5. The evidence produced by the prosecution has been examined minutely.
The appellant as per prosecution own case was found in possession of counterfeit currency notes. The prosecution was to prove that it was in the conscious knowledge of the appellant that the notes were forged and the appellant was intending to use these notes as a genuine. The record is silent about any report from currency officer State Bank of Pakistan, which was necessary to substantiate the charge. The police officials were not competent to give an opinion that the notes recovered from the appellant were forged.
6. Mere possession of forged currency notes would not be sufficient to sustain a finding of conviction and the prosecution in the instant case failed to prove the charge beyond any shadow of doubt as the basic ingredients for maintaining conviction on the charges of section 489-C are lacking. The appeal is allowed, the convict/appellant Abdur Rehman is acquitted of the charges levelled against him and he be set free forthwith, if not required to be detained in any other case.