Delhi HC denies anticipatory bail to man in digital fraud case

New Delhi, Oct 7 (PTI) The Delhi High Court has denied anticipatory bail to a man accused in a case of extorting Rs 1.75 crore from a person by showing fake Supreme Court orders while impersonating as police officer on a WhatsApp video call.

Justice Amit Mahajan passed the order on September 25, saying the case pertained to serious allegations of digital frauds where complex technological mechanisms were employed to defraud gullible victims, adding that "such crimes are on the rise".

"Such cases, by their very nature, involve intricate methods and multiple communication devices and are used to mislead unsuspecting victims. Such crimes are on the rise and the same tend to be significantly harder to crack due to the boon of technology that is effectively misused by crooks to wreak havoc and evade the law enforcement," the judge said.

The judge noted that a SIM card, instrumental in facilitating communications with the complainant, was with the applicant during the commission of the offence, as per an analysis of the location of the card.

The judge said that the task of the investigating agency seemed "arduous" and they needed to be given a fair play in the joints to investigate the matter in the manner they deem appropriate.

"The matter requires thorough investigation which ought not to be curtailed by passing an order granting pre-arrest bail," the judge said.

He added that considering the allegations against the applicant, "it could not be held at this stage that the investigation is being carried out with the intention to injure or humiliate the applicant".

"Prima facie, the facts do not indicate false implication of the applicant. The present application is accordingly dismissed," the judge said.

According to the complaint, on May 6, 2024 the complainant received a call from the accused claiming to be a police officer from Tilak Nagar police station in Mumbai.

The complainant was made to believe that a SIM card had been bought by using his Aadhaar card and that the same was misused to send inappropriate messages.

The complainant was also threatened that he allegedly had links with the owner of Jet Airways, Naresh Goyal, who is involved in money laundering.

The person posing as police officer also claimed that Naresh Goyal regularly sent money to the complainant and threatened to take strict action against him.

Further, video call conversations were also made by the accused persons in police uniforms claiming that they belonged to Tilak Nagar police station and a set-up of police station was also shown to the complainant.

The accused persons sent documents to the complainant claiming the same to have been issued by the Supreme Court, as well as the CBI.

The complainant was also asked to share details of his identification, photograph, account details and was also asked to transfer all his money to their bank accounts.

Based on the complaint, a case of forgery, impersonation, and digital manipulation was lodged by the Special Cell of Delhi Police. PTI UK UK KVK KVK