Mumbai: A Mumbai sessions court has granted bail to Abdul Razak Abdul Aziz, accused of possessing counterfeit currency, after observing that his co-accused with similar charges had already been granted bail and that the recovery in the case would be subject to trial.
The bail was granted by Sessions Judge A. Subramaniam in connection with case registered with Tardeo Police Station under Sections 179, 180, and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
72 fake ₹100 notes recovered during police inquiry
According to the prosecution, the case originated from an incident on October 20, 2024, when the complainant, who owns a shop at Haji Ali, reported that a man tried to pay for food with a counterfeit Rs 100 note. Upon a police inquiry, the man — Abdul Razak — was found in possession of 72 counterfeit Rs 100 notes, allegedly provided to him by a colleague.
Other accused arrested, main accused reported dead
This led to the registration of an FIR, and subsequent arrests of two other individuals — Mohd. Rehan and Shamshira Ansari — who were allegedly part of the counterfeit currency distribution chain. The main accused, Najma, was later reported deceased.
NGO-backed legal aid played key role in bail plea
Abdul Razak was represented by Advocate Mangesh Saundalkar, associated with the NGO Dard Se Humdard Tak, an organisation working for legal aid and prison reforms. The NGO is been run by adv Prakash Salsingekar to aid prisoners’s who are unable to hire advocates for themselves.
Adv Mangesh argued that there was a delay in arrest, no criminal antecedents, and that similar allegations against co-accused had already resulted in bail. The court took note of these submissions and the fact that the accusations against Razak were of a comparable nature.
Court notes parity with co-accused already on bail
The court held that the explanation given by the accused regarding possession of the notes could be examined during the trial. It also noted that co-accused Rehan, who was found with three counterfeit notes, had already been granted bail.
In its order dated July 11, the court allowed Abdul Razak’s release on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 with one or more sureties of like amount. He was also granted interim bail on a cash surety of Rs 40,000, with the condition that full sureties must be furnished within four weeks.
