An admitted appeal cannot be disposed of as not pressed; merits adjudication is required.

The appellant was convicted under Section 489C of the Penal Code and sentenced to three years and six months’ rigorous imprisonment and a fine of ₹5,000 by the Additional Sessions Judge, Jangipur.

The prosecution alleged that police recovered 188 counterfeit ₹500 notes from his trouser pocket; the judgment records that seizure witnesses and expert evidence supported the prosecution case.

At the appeal hearing, the appellant had undergone three years, five months and seventeen days of the custodial sentence and did not wish to press the appeal further; counsel stated that any unpaid fine would be paid.

1. Whether the conviction under Section 489C should be disturbed on appeal, notwithstanding the appellant’s stated wish not to press the appeal.

2. Whether the custodial sentence should be modified in light of the period already undergone.

The Court applied Section 489C of the Penal Code, under which the appellant had been convicted.

It also stated that once an appeal has been admitted, it cannot be disposed of merely as not pressed and must be decided on its merits.

Although the appellant did not wish to pursue the appeal, the Court considered the merits because an admitted appeal must be decided on its merits.

It found no reason to differ from the trial court’s assessment of the conviction, noting that the appellant had been apprehended with counterfeit notes and that the seizure witnesses and expert opinion supported the prosecution case.

However, because the appellant had served nearly all of the three-year-and-six-month custodial term, the Court modified the sentence to the period already undergone.

It directed that the appellant be released forthwith upon payment of the fine, if unpaid, and completion of the necessary formalities; the appeal was disposed of accordingly.