Two accused of dealing in fake revenue stamps let off

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Savita Rao acquitted East Delhi resident Sanjeev Sharma and Uttar Pradesh native Raj Kumar of the charges of dealing in fake revenue stamps on an appeal by them against the trial court order sentencing them to jail terms for a year and six months respectively.

"Since, the prosecution has not been able to prove even the recovery or the charge of selling of the stamps against any of the convicts, both of them deserve benefit of the same.

"Accordingly, Sanjeev Sharma is acquitted of the offence under section 258 (sale of counterfeit Government stamps)and 259 (possession of counterfeit Government stamps) of the IPC and appellant Raj Kumar is acquitted of the offence under section 259 of the IPC," the judge said.

Acting on a tip off, the police had allegedly caught Sharma selling fake revenue stamps at an ISBT here on October 10, 1997.

On the basis of the disclosure statement made by Sharma, Kumar was arrested from the ticket counter of Shahdara railway station the same day.

The two men were convicted in September this year by the magisterial court.

The sessions court, however, while adjudicating their appeal rejected the contention of the police and said the ISBT did not seem like a place where people, who are in a hurry to board a bus, would be interested in buying revenue stamps.

The court, while acquitting the two also considered that the investigating officer (IO), who had prepared all the documents in the case had not appeared before it despite issue of a non-bailable warrant against him.