The dominant issues were whether the accused's statement under...

The dominant issues were whether the accused's statement under s.108 Customs Act was voluntary and reliable, and whether recovery and seizure of counterfeit currency were proved despite minor discrepancies in note counts. The court held the s.108 statement was genuine, unretracted, corroborated by independent facts, and established possession and recovery; hence, the seizure and transit integrity were proved, and the Bank Note Press report confirmed the notes were counterfeit, rendering counting/serial-number variances attributable to human error and non-fatal. The offence under s.489(B) IPC failed for want of evidence of trafficking, but possession with requisite knowledge under s.489(C) IPC was proved, warranting conviction under s.489(C) and reversal of acquittal to that extent. - HC

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