India, May 13 -- Twelve years after a man was booked for possessing and circulating Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) worth tens of thousands of rupees, a special court under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on Tuesday acquitted him, holding that the prosecution failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt and observing that the counterfeit notes could have been "planted".

Special judge Chakor S Baviskar acquitted Usman Hanif Shaikh of charges related to possession and trafficking of counterfeit currency, as well as offences under the UAPA linked to alleged terrorist activity through circulation of high-quality fake notes. Shaikh was booked by the Mumbai police's crime branch in 2014.

The case stemmed from a Decemb...