‘Cannot be tried for same offence twice’: Mumbai court discharges man convicted in fake currency case in Lucknow

Girijesh Yadav alias Guddu was arrested by the ATS, Mumbai, which said that he had procured fake currency, found in possession of another accused during a search in the Juhu area of Mumbai in 2009. The men were arrested in Mumbai with over 700 notes of Rs 100 denomination. In a similar case in 2010, currency notes of the same series were found in Lucknow, establishing their connection with the Mumbai case, the police said. After an investigation, it was found that Yadav had provided the fake currency in both cases.

It was alleged that he himself manufactured and printed the notes in his home, and they were circulated in Lucknow and Mumbai. The ATS in Lucknow, thereafter, arrested Yadav, who was found in possession of 400 fake notes of Rs 1,000. The police claimed that several materials, including a printer, a colour printer, cartridges, disposable syringes, various bottles of different colours, scissors, blades, papers, and everything required to manufacture Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) were found at his house.

In 2011, Yadav was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment by a Lucknow court.

Meanwhile, his co-accused, arrested in Mumbai, also faced a separate trial and was found guilty. Yadav was brought to the Mumbai court after his conviction in Lucknow. Yadav had argued that he had already been convicted for the same offence once, and it would amount to double jeopardy if he were sentenced to a separate punishment in Mumbai. The police opposed this, stating that the offences were not the same.

“Because, ATS Mumbai and ATS Lucknow both claim one and the same spot of manufacturing/ producing/counterfeiting the FICN by

this accused, Girjesh, that is, his house at Baghela…Uttar Pradesh and from there only, he used to hand it over to accused No. 4 Arif for further circulation,” the court said.

It referred to Article 20(2) of the Constitution of India, which protects the accused from double jeopardy, and said that the offences are the same, and hence Yadav, who is serving a life term in Lucknow, has to be discharged from the Mumbai case.

Yadav was booked under sections 489(A), (B) and (C) (related to counterfeit currency) along with section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.