Fake currency case: HC dismisses Iranian’s plea

The Kerala High Court on Saturday dismissed the plea of Iranian national Abdul Majeed Najeedi, an accused in the counterfeit currency case, seeking to travel to Kuwait to renew his residence permit.

Justice S Siri Jagan passed the order while considering the petition filed by Abdul, 37, who is under detention for possessing fake Indian currency as per the order of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Ernakulam.

The magistrate dismissed the plea to allow him to visit Kuwait and renew the residence permit and then return to stand trial.

The petitioner was arrested from a hotel on June 25 for possessing counterfeit currency notes having the face value of Rs 15,500.

He submitted that there is no evidence to convict him in the case and that his residence  permit will expire on December 16. His family is in Kuwait and it is absolutely necessary for him to visit the country and renew the permit. He submitted that he is merely a victim and not the perpetrator of the crime. He assured that he will come back to India immediately after renewing the permit and also offered to deposit Rs 15 lakh as surety. He said that his brother would be here in India until his return, the petitioner said. Director General of Prosecution T Asaf Ali vehemently opposed the plea and said that Kuwait is a foreign country where the writ issued in India does not prevail. If he is granted permission to leave, there is a chance that he would disappear from the clutches of the law.

The court said that depositing an amount of money and providing other assurances are not fool-proof methods for ensuring the presence of the petitioner, and hence rejected the plea.