'Such acts eat away vitals of economy': Supreme Court refuses bail to Bulgarian man in counterfeit notes case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a bail plea of Bulgarian national Ruslan Petrov Metodiev, accused of running a counterfeit currency racket in the national capital, saying such an action eats away the vitals of the economy.

Metodiev was arrested on June 21, 2023, following a raid based on specific intelligence inputs alleging that he was supplying Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN).

The police, acting on a tip-off, intercepted Metodiev in Delhi and allegedly recovered Rs 8 lakh in Rs 500 denomination counterfeit notes from his possession.

A bench comprising Justices Sandeep Mehta and Prasanna B Varale did not agree with the plea of bail.

“Such acts eat away the vitals of the economy,” the bench said.

Moreover, the top court said, the foreign national was caught with Rs 8 lakh in FICN.

“This is not a fit case for grant of bail,” the bench added.

On March 12, the Delhi High Court dismissed Metodiev's regular bail plea.

The high court underscored the gravity of the offences, including their potential to destabilise the national economy which outweighed the arguments in favour of bail.

The FIR was lodged by the Special Cell of Delhi Police in 2023 and during the investigation, the investigators searched his Gurugram home and allegedly found a full-fledged counterfeiting setup.

The seized items included printers, laptops, tracing paper, inks, cutting tools and nearly-finished fake currency.

The high court found prima facie evidence of Metodiev’s involvement in a broader counterfeiting operation and said the digital and forensic evidence, particularly a video file recovered from the accused's SSD, supported the prosecution’s case.

“The prosecution’s case is not solely based on the recovery of FICN from the applicant but is further substantiated by other material seized during the investigation from his residence, including digital devices, printers and raw materials used for counterfeiting, indicating that the applicant’s alleged activities were part of an ongoing operation,” the high court said.

A forensic examination of the raw materials, laptops, and cell phones recovered from his house revealed that he had conducted multiple online searches related to the production of counterfeit currency, including materials and techniques used in counterfeiting, it said.

“The applicant is a foreign national and his passport has already expired. While he has applied for renewal, its status remains pending. Given the serious nature of the allegations against him and the potential for a lengthy sentence if convicted, there exists a strong possibility that the applicant may abscond if released on bail,” it added.