Carriers of fake currency should be dealt with sternly: Court

The court said that without the active role of carriers, "the culprits who indulge in printing of fake currency notes across the border will not be able to circulate the same in India."

Additional Sessions Judge Pawan Jain made the observations while awarding ten year jail term and Rs 11 lakh fine on Imran Abdulla Syed, a resident of Mumbai, who was acting as a carrier.

He had arrived in India from Karachi in August 2010 when he was apprehended by the CBI at IGI Airport with fake currency with a face value of Rs 11.21 lakh.

"Since, the counterfeit currency notes having face value of 11,21,500 were recovered when convict was coming from Pakistan, this establishes the convict was involved in the racket of counterfeit currency notes," the court said while sentencing Syed for offences under section 489B and 489C (using and possessing fake currency) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) IPC.

Rejecting Syed's plea that he deserved leniency as he was a mere carrier and not involved in printing of fake currency notes, the court said, "In such type of offences, carriers play a significant role because without their active role, the culprits who indulge in printing of fake currency notes across the border will not be able to circulate the same in India.

"As and when a carrier succeeds in intruding India with fake currency notes, it emboldens the main culprits to circulate more FICNs in India," ASJ Jain said.

"To my mind, in order to break the said chain, such carriers should also be dealt with iron hands so that a loud and clear message go to the offenders who send FICNs in India through such carriers," he added.