A significant ruling by the Punjab and Haryana High Court has sought to balance the rights of an accused person with the interests of cyber fraud victims. The court granted bail to an accused in a cyber crime case after directing him to deposit ₹4.60 lakh, allegedly linked to the fraud, and allowed the amount to be released to affected parties.
The case arose from a petition filed by an accused arrested in a matter registered by Chandigarh’s Cyber Crime Police Station under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
According to the prosecution, ₹4.60 lakh and another ₹18,000, allegedly derived from cyber fraud, were credited to the accused’s bank account. While the larger amount was later withdrawn, the accused informed the court that he had already returned ₹18,000 and was willing to deposit the remaining ₹4.60 lakh with the investigating officer within 1 week.
Accepting the undertaking, Justice Jagmohan Bansal directed the accused to deposit the amount as a condition for bail. The court further allowed the investigating officer to release the deposited sum to the complainant and other affected parties.
“The present petition deserves to be allowed and accordingly allowed subject to deposit of conceded amount of Rs 4,60,000 with the Investigating Officer within a week from today. The Investigating Officer shall be at liberty to release the said amount to the complainant as well as other affected parties,” Justice Bansal observed.
The court noted that the accused had been in custody since January 18, was not involved in any other criminal case, and that the police report had already been filed with charges framed. It also observed that only 1 of the 9 prosecution witnesses had been partially examined, making an early conclusion of the trial unlikely.
Referring to Article 21 of the Constitution and the Supreme Court’s observations in the Satender Kumar Antil case, the Bench emphasized the importance of personal liberty. The court found no convincing material to suggest the accused would flee, tamper with evidence, or influence witnesses if released.
While granting bail, the court clarified that the State could seek cancellation of bail if the accused, his family members, or associates attempted to threaten or intimidate witnesses. It also stated that the observations were limited to the bail proceedings and should not influence the trial on merits.
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