HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad High Court on Friday upheld the judgment of the Special Court for NIA cases which convicted three persons who circulated fake Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.
The bench of justices CV Nagarjuna Reddy and MSK Jaiswal dismissed the appeals filed by Mohammad Shafi, Masood Akthar Ansari and Shaik Akram.
The three convicts, along with 28 others, were charged with bringing in fake currency from neighbouring countries Pakistan and Bangladesh, and circulating the same in India.
According to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the kingpins in Pakistan and Bangladesh conspired with some persons in Dubai and sent the fake currency from Bangalore to Delhi by parcels. From there the fake notes were circulated and used for funding terrorist activities.
NIA officials tracked the gang and arrested them and filed the charge sheet before the special court. The Pakistan and Bangladesh nationals are still at large.
The special court convicted the trio and sentenced them to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1,000 each. Aggrieved by the punishment, they moved the High Court.
After hearing the case, the bench upheld the punishments awarded by the lower court. The NIA proved the crime of circulating the fake currency but could not establish the conspiracy angle, the bench observed.