25 years on, man cleared of possessing counterfeit US dollars

A Mumbai court acquitted Vergese Joseph of possessing counterfeit US dollars from 1999 due to lack of evidence, despite his initial confession.

MUMBAI: The sessions court last week acquitted a city resident who was arrested for possessing counterfeit US dollars 25 years ago.

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The case, dating back to 1999, was registered after the accused, Vergese Joseph, was allegedly found in possession of 14 fake $100 notes. He was arrested by the Khar police on August 18, 1999, after he reportedly admitted during interrogation to possessing the notes. However, later, despite the prosecution’s efforts, which included issuing summons, bailable and non-bailable warrants and a proclamation, Joseph remained untraceable since 2000.

The case faced a significant setback due to the lack of evidence confirming the authenticity of the seized currency. The prosecution admitted that they had no conclusive evidence to verify the authenticity of the seized notes and, therefore, special judge BD Shelke acquitted the accused.

ACP Jubeda Mohammad Razak Shaikh, who was then a sub-inspector at the Khar Police Station, testified that on August 18, 1999, she identified 14 US dollar notes. Despite this identification, the court noted, the seized currencies were not forwarded to the forensic experts for analysis.

Public prosecutor Jaysing Desai, representing the state, acknowledged that no evidence had been presented to the court showing that the 14 notes were counterfeit. He further argued that keeping the matter pending for an extended period would serve no useful purpose and highlighted that the accused has been absconding since 2000, making it highly unlikely that his presence can be secured.

The court, therefore, held that there were no sufficient grounds to proceed against Joseph and cleared him of all the charges against him.