Two women possessing counterfeit banknotes jailed

Additional District and Sessions Judge Irshad Hussain has awarded one-year jail term each to two women identified as Sobia and Farhat for their involvement in using counterfeit banknotes of Rs1,000 denomination in Peoples Bus.

Both women have been placed under the supervision of a probation officer following the court order. They were released on a surety bond of Rs10,000 each, with the condition to uphold good citizenship and abstain from similar activities for a year. The court also ordered the deposition of six fake Rs1,000 banknotes recovered from the women to the State Bank.

Both Sobia and Farhat come from financially disadvantaged backgrounds, with Farhat being a widow. While the penalty for using counterfeit currency is severe, the court took into consideration their circumstances, resulting in reducing the jail term to one year for each woman.

The State Bank has confirmed the recovered currency notes are counterfeit. According to the prosecution, both women were apprehended on January 21, 2023, following a complaint from a driver of the Peoples Bus Service.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21^st, 2024.