Mumbai Court Rejects Bail Of Accused In Counterfeit Postal Stamp Racket, Says Scam Deprived Government Of Legitimate Revenue

Mumbai: The sessions court has refused bail to Sahabuddin Shaikh, 42, an IT sector employee arrested in a counterfeit postal stamp racket, observing that he was part of an organised syndicate involved in manufacturing and circulating fake postal stamps.

Also Watch:

“Earlier, there was wide circulation of counterfeit currency notes in the economy prompting some drastic measures taken by the government in 2016. Prior to that Maharashtra witnessed use of a large number of counterfeit stamps for making various instruments known as Telgi Stamp Scam. Now in the present case use of counterfeit postal stamps as genuine in sending postal articles is discovered. Thus, all these are the modes of preventing the government from obtaining legitimate revenue and weakening the economy,” said Special Sessions Judge AD Kshirsagar while rejecting Shaikh's bail plea.

Shaikh was arrested in Delhi on February 8 after police busted the racket. Police claimed they recovered alleged counterfeit postal stamps worth ₹22 lakh from him. His lawyer argued the stamps were yet to be proved counterfeit and contended there was no chain of evidence linking him to the offence. The defence said custodial interrogation was complete, nothing remained to be recovered, the investigation had concluded and a chargesheet had been filed.

Public prosecutor Anand Sukhdeve opposed the plea, alleging Shaikh's father and another man, Akbar, ran the racket across several states, with transactions worth ₹7-8 crore in the accused's accounts.

“The accused did not disclose the source of postal stamps seized from him. Thus, there is prima facie evidence found against the accused,” the court said, rejecting bail. It noted allegations required thorough examination before relief could be considered further.

To get details on exclusive and budget-friendly property deals in Mumbai & surrounding regions, do visit: https://budgetproperties.in/