Typescripts, Printed Matter, Currency and Mechanical Impressions

Typewriters dropped out of office use in India through the 1990s but they still surface in cold cases, old wills, contested government records and small-town extortion files. The examiner works two levels.Class characteristics identify the make and model: typeface design (pica 10 cpi, elite 12 cpi, proportional spacing), slant, serif style, character height and the typewriter mechanism (manual bar-type, electric, golf-ball, or daisy wheel).Individual characteristics identify the specific machine: vertical and horizontal alignment defects (a letter that prints high, low, left or right of its baseline), uneven impression pressure (heavy on one side from a worn type bar), broken or chipped serifs, ribbon-feed quirks and platen damage that prints as a faint ridge under a character.

The mechanism families matter for MCQs.Manual bar-type machines use one type bar per character.Electric bar-type retains the bars but a motor strikes them. The IBM Selectric (1961)introduced the golf ball typeball that rotates and tilts to bring any character to the print position; changing typeface meant swapping the ball. The daisy wheel typewriter and early word-processor printers of the late 1970s and 1980s used a flat petal wheel. Indian office desks ran on Godrej Prima typewriters (the last Indian manufacturer, which stopped production in 2009),Halda(Swedish),BrotherOlivettiRemington Rand and Facit machines. Carbon-film ribbons used on later electric typewriters give a sharp impression and can be read back at the laboratory to recover the typed text directly off the spent ribbon.

The questioned-documents division at CFSL Kolkata and CFSL Hyderabad maintain reference collections of typefaces from major makes so an examiner can narrow a questioned typescript to a family and then to a class within that family before requesting the suspected machine for individualising comparison.

Modern questioned-document casework has moved from typewriters to office printers, multi-function devices and photocopiers. The examiner asks first which technology produced the print, then which device.Laser printing uses dry toner (pigment in plastic) drawn onto a charged drum and fused to paper by heat and pressure; under magnification toner sits on the surface and shows a slight gloss and sharp edges, with stray toner specks in the background.Inkjet printing sprays liquid ink droplets that soak into the paper fibres and show a soft, feathered edge under magnification; colour dot patterns are characteristic of the cartridge head design.Photocopying(analogue or digital) uses the same xerographic principle as laser printing and is examined the same way.

The individualising defect set for laser and digital systems is the banding pattern: periodic horizontal density variation caused by drum eccentricity, fuser-roller wear or developer-roller defects. The repeat period and amplitude can tie a printout to a specific machine when the suspect device is available. Drum scratches print as fixed thin lines down the page on every output, another individualising mark.

The biggest exam fact in this section is the machine-identification code (MIC)also called Extended Forensic Features (EFF)or yellow tracking dots. Most colour laser printers and colour photocopiers embed a faint pattern of yellow micro-dots on every printed page that encodes the device serial number and (in many cases) the date and time of printing. The dots were introduced quietly by manufacturers under pressure from central banks and law enforcement to deter counterfeiting; they were publicly documented by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) in 2005. The dots are visible under blue light (about 470 nm) or under a microscope after enlargement. CFSL examiners use the MIC to trace counterfeit currency printouts, ransom-note printouts and forged certificates back to the originating device.

Inkjet output does not carry MIC dots in the same systematic way, but inkjet cartridge nozzle defects(missing dots, banding from clogged nozzles) and the chemistry of the ink (dye-based versus pigment-based, examined by spectrophotometry and chromatography linked to the inks, papers and age-of-documentsbullet) provide the individualising material.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)issues currency under the RBI Act 1934. Printing is split between BRBNMPL (Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Pvt Ltd)the RBI subsidiary with presses at Mysuru (Karnataka)and Salboni (West Bengal)and SPMCIL (Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd)a Government of India enterprise that runs the Currency Note Press at Nashik (Maharashtra)and the Bank Note Press at Dewas (Madhya Pradesh). The currency paper itself is supplied by Security Paper Mill, Hoshangabad (Madhya Pradesh)and by imports.

The Mahatma Gandhi New Series (MGNS)was launched in November 2016 alongside demonetisation of the old ₹500 and ₹1000 notes. MGNS denominations issued so far are ₹10, ₹20, ₹50, ₹100, ₹200, ₹500 and (since withdrawn from circulation in May 2023) ₹2000. Each note carries a layered set of security features that the examiner checks in a routine sequence.

Front-of-note features.

• Intaglio printing for the Mahatma Gandhi portrait, the RBI seal, the Ashoka Pillar emblem, the denomination numeral and the Reserve Bank governor's signature. Run a fingernail across these and you feel raised relief; offset and inkjet counterfeits feel flat.
• Latent image of the denomination numeral on the vertical band right of the Mahatma Gandhi portrait, visible when the note is held at eye level horizontally.
• Micro-lettering between the portrait and the vertical band: "RBI" and "भारत" plus the denomination numeral. Visible under a 10x hand lens; counterfeits show a blurred dotty mass instead of crisp letters.
• Optically Variable Ink (OVI)for the denomination numeral on ₹500 and ₹2000 notes: colour shifts from green to blue on tilt. ₹200 and lower do not carry OVI.
• Windowed security thread running vertically through the note, with "भारत" and "RBI" alternating in micro-text. On ₹500 the thread shifts colour from green to blue on tilt.
• See-through register of the denomination numeral, with half the numeral printed front and half back; the two halves align perfectly when held against light.
• Bleed lines for the visually impaired: angular bleed lines on the left and right edges of higher denominations (₹100, ₹200, ₹500, ₹2000), and an intaglio identification mark (circle, triangle, square, rectangle, H-shape) coded by denomination.

Back-of-note features.

• Watermark of the Mahatma Gandhi portrait with an electrotype watermark of the denomination numeral alongside, embedded by varying the paper thickness during manufacture.
• Numbering panel with ascending font sizes from left to right; counterfeits often miss this gradient.
• Year of printing on the reverse.
• Swachh Bharat logo and a denomination-specific motif on the reverse (Sanchi Stupa on ₹200, Red Fort on ₹500, Konark Sun Temple on ₹10, Ellora Caves on ₹20, Hampi chariot on ₹50, Rani ki Vav on ₹100, Mangalyaan on the now-withdrawn ₹2000).
• Fluorescence under UV the numbering panel and the security thread show bright fluorescence; the paper itself is non-fluorescent (cotton substrate without optical brighteners), whereas commercial bond paper used by counterfeiters lights up uniformly under UV.

Coin minting sits with the India Government Mints at Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Noida under SPMCIL, and is governed by the Coinage Act 2011. Coins are outside the questioned-documents domain but share the same institutional structure.

A field-level counterfeit check by a bank cashier runs three quick tests: feel the intaglio relief, tilt the note to see the OVI colour shift on ₹500, and hold the note against light to see the watermark, see-through register and security thread. A document examiner adds a longer sequence at the lab.

Laboratory examination sequence.

1. Stereo microscope at 10x to 40x to compare intaglio relief, micro-letter sharpness, ink halftone patterns and paper fibre structure.
2. UV inspection at 254 nm and 365 nm: genuine notes show selective fluorescence on numbering panel and security thread; counterfeits printed on commercial paper fluoresce all over.
3. IR / transmitted light examination of the watermark, electrotype and see-through register.
4. Magnetic ink check the security thread and certain intaglio inks on genuine notes carry magnetic properties picked up by a magnetic reader.
5. VSC (Video Spectral Comparator)examination for ink differentiation across UV, visible and IR bands.
6. Comparison with the RBI reference note of the same series and printing year held by the lab.

RBI Counterfeit Note Detection and Impounding procedure (RBI Master Direction on Detection and Impounding of Counterfeit Notes, 2017, amended) requires every bank branch that detects a counterfeit to impound it without exchange, mark it "COUNTERFEIT NOTE / नकली नोट", issue an acknowledgement receipt to the tenderer, and report to the police. Holdings of four or more counterfeits in a single transaction must trigger an FIR with the local police, and police must inform the NCRB which maintains FICN data.

Legal frame.

• Indian Penal Code 1860 Sections 489A to 489E historically governed counterfeiting of currency notes and bank notes. Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 these are renumbered as Sections 178 to 181(counterfeiting of currency notes, using as genuine, possession with intent, making or possessing instruments for counterfeiting, making or using documents resembling currency notes).
• Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 (UAPA), Sections 15, 16 and 17 treat high-quality, large-scale FICN as a terrorist act when the counterfeiting threatens the economic security of India. This pulls FICN out of ordinary IPC casework and into the special UAPA regime.
• NIA Act 2008 gives the National Investigation Agency jurisdiction over FICN offences under UAPA. The NIA runs a dedicated FICN coordination cell it has investigated several Pakistan-origin counterfeit-currency networks moving FICN through Nepal and Bangladesh borders.
• CBI investigates FICN cases of cross-border or interstate dimension when the central government refers them.

Chain-of-custody discipline (sealing the impounded notes, stamping with the bank seal and authorised signature, photographing each note, and the proper chain of custodyup to the QD division) is the first thing defence counsel attacks in any FICN trial. The expert's report is admitted under the BSA 2023 framework for forensic evidenceand the BSA Sections 39 (expert opinion) and 45 (opinion of handwriting and signature) carry the testimony.

Lottery tickets in India are issued by state-government lotteries (Kerala, Sikkim, Maharashtra, Punjab, Goa, West Bengal, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh) under the Lotteries (Regulation) Act 1998 and the Lotteries (Regulation) Rules 2010. Tickets carry security features scaled to the denomination: serial numbering, micro-print, watermarks on higher-value tickets, holograms, OVI on prize-linked tickets, and UV-fluorescent print elements. Forgery typically involves altering the winning serial number on a low-value ticket; the examiner looks for erasures, ink-overlay differences (under VSC) and disturbance of the paper surface around the altered digits.

Postage stamps are printed by the India Security Press, Nashik under SPMCIL. Security features include watermarks (the multiple Ashoka emblem watermark on definitive stamps), perforation gauge and pattern, phosphor banding under UV, and intaglio printing for high-value definitive stamps. Forensic questions usually involve reuse of cancelled stamps (chemical removal of the cancellation overprint) and forgery of high-value philatelic stamps.

Cheques and demand drafts issued by Indian banks under the CTS-2010 (Cheque Truncation System) standard carry a fixed set of security features: void pantograph (the word "VOID" appears on photocopies), micro-lettering in signature line, watermark "CTS-INDIA" visible against light, UV-fluorescent bank logo, chemical-sensitive paper that stains when erasing fluids are used, MICR code line at the bottom in magnetic ink, and IFSC and account-number panels.

Mechanical impressions cover the impressions left by rubber stamps, metal seals, embossing dies, perforating dies (cancellation devices on accounting documents), and dry seals used by courts, notaries and registrars. The examination logic is the standard class-plus-individual framework.

Rubber stamps(the most common questioned-document case) carry class characteristics in the typeface, the layout (rectangular, round, oval), and the line work of any logo. Individual characteristics arise from manufacture (small voids in the rubber, edge irregularities), use (wear on high-pressure points, accumulated ink and paper fibres in recesses) and damage (cracks, missing slivers of rubber). A questioned rubber-stamp impression is compared with test impressions taken from the suspect stamp at varying pressures and ink loads. Pre-inked self-inking stamps (Trodat, Shiny brands common in Indian offices) give more uniform impressions than traditional separate-ink-pad rubber stamps and are harder to individualise.

Metal seals and embossing dies used by courts, registrars of companies, notaries, sub-registrars (under the Registration Act 1908) and educational institutions leave a relief impression on paper (no ink) or a wax-and-ink combination. Examination uses oblique lighting to bring out the relief, photography at controlled angles, and silicone or polymer casts of the suspect die when comparison is needed. The 2D versus 3D nature of the impression is the discriminator: embossing yields a three-dimensional deformation of the paper that a flat rubber-stamp reproduction cannot match.

Perforation and crimping devices used by banks ("PAID", "CANCELLED") create cut-out character patterns. Punch wear, slight rotation of the die between strikes, and ink residue patterns all individualise.

Casework anchors in India include forged sub-registrar seals on property deeds (a recurring issue in registry-office investigations), forged court orders bearing scanned high-court seals (now common with colour laser printing), and forged academic certificates with university seals examined by CFSL and SFSL questioned-documents divisions.