Delhi High Court refuses bail to 'smuggler' in fake currency circulation case

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to grant bail to a suspected smuggler in a case concerning an alleged conspiracy to smuggle high-quality fake Indian currency and gold into the country.

The court emphasised that the circulation of fake currency impinges upon the country's economic security and could have a disastrous effect on the economy, and the penetration of such networks can pose a grave challenge for investigating agencies.

Dismissing an appeal filed by Abdul Wahid against a trial court order rejecting his bail plea, a bench headed by Justice Prathiba M Singh said the evidence on record prima facie pointed to his involvement in "facilitating the circulation of high-quality counterfeit Indian currency".

Wahid was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on March 4, 2022 in a case under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code.

"Circulation of fake currency impinges upon the economic security of the country, and such circulation could have a disastrous effect on the economy. Persons who may be involved in circulation of fake currency operate through several back-channel networks, which span across countries. They do not use usual channels of communication and fake currency is usually introduced into the market in an extremely clandestine manner. Penetration of networks related to fake currency can pose a grave challenge for the investigating agency as well," the bench, also comprising Justice Amit Sharma, said.

The court noted that at this stage, only two witnesses have been examined in the trial, which has been going on, and the 29-year-old appellant has been in custody for two years.

"Considering the maximum punishment prescribed under section 18 of the UAPA and the present stage of the trial, this court is not inclined to grant bail to the appellant at this stage. The impugned order of the learned trial court dated February 28, 2024 does not warrant any interference from this court. The appeal is, accordingly, dismissed," the court concluded.

It also said the accused's claim that he was unaware of the currency being dealt with was fake will have to be established in the trial court.

"The stand of the appellant that he is merely involved in the business of import/export of burkhas and other garments and gold would have to be raised as a defence to be established before the trial court," it said.

"There are sufficient grounds at this stage to believe that the allegations against the appellant are prima facie true," the court stated.

According to NIA officials, the case pertains to the January 12, 2022 seizure of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) with a face value of Rs 10 lakh and 175 grams of gold worth Rs 8.5 lakh at Terminal-3 of Delhi's Indira Gandhi International airport by customs officials from Mohammad Shahjan.

It was alleged that the appellant, who ran a money-exchange counter, was facilitating the two other accused -- Mohammad Shahjan and Amir-Ul-Haq -- in smuggling FICNs and other counterfeit articles from Dubai to India.