Andhra Pradesh and Telangana hold the third and fifth places respectively for the highest number of fake currency seized. Gujarat leads the counterfeit currency charts with West Bengal following behind.
The sections 489 A and 489 B of Indian Penal Code (IPC) for Counterfeiting Currency and Banknotes states the person in question will be punished with lifetime imprisonment, fine or both.
According to section 489 C of IPC for Possession of Forged or Counterfeit currency notes the person in question will be punished with a fine, seven year imprisonment or both.
But the sections 489 B and 489 C apply only if the person in question is aware the notes are fake.
The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 2012 (UPA,) considers the printing or possession of the counterfeit currency notes as a terrorist activity. This can lead to lifetime imprisonment.
The total amount of counterfeit currency seized in India is Rs. 16 crores. But the amount of counterfeit currency seized in India under the UPA Act is only Rs. 10 crores.
The total number of FIR’s registered in India and the accused detained are 1,079 and 1,067 respectively.
In Telangana, the number of fake notes seized is 114 notes of Rs. 2,000, 3,206 notes of Rs. 1,000, 8,138 notes of Rs. 500, 893 notes of Rs. 100. The notes seized for Rs. 50, 20 and 10 are 107, 117 and 91 respectively. The total fake notes seized amounts to Rs. 76 lakhs.
In 2017, 294 cases of counterfeiting currency and banknotes were registered under sections 489 A and 489 E of IPC. Delhi, with 76 cases topped the list of cities with highest cases booked followed by Chennai (45,) Bangalore (39) and Hyderabad (23.)
