With cyber fraud cases increasing, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has stressed that courts must take greater caution while deciding bail pleas in such matters. The court made the observation while rejecting the bail plea of Sushil Kaushik, who was arrested in connection with a cyber fraud case registered by the Chandigarh cyber station police in December 2025.
The court said there was a high possibility that Kaushik could continue similar unlawful activities and repeat the offence if released. It noted that while bail is ordinarily the rule, the allegations in this case were serious and of an “exceptional character”.
The case began after Pankaj Kumar filed a complaint on October 28, 2025. He alleged that a woman identifying herself as Simran Sharma and claiming to represent the credit card department of a prominent bank called him. She allegedly offered to convert his existing card to another bank card for ₹170, promising a credit limit of ₹4.5 lakh and better reward points.
After opening a link sent by her, ₹170 was debited from his card. On November 4, he allegedly received another call and a WhatsApp link. After opening it, his phone was allegedly hacked. He then received messages showing transactions of ₹1.53 lakh and ₹19,500 from his card.
Police traced the alleged cyber fraud syndicate through customer application forms and call detail records. Co-accused Pratima, Rashmi and Juhi were arrested in January and were allegedly working at a call centre to make fraudulent calls. Alleged kingpin Ajay Singh Mann was arrested on January 7, while Kaushik was arrested on January 22.
Police alleged that Kaushik arranged bank accounts and SIM cards used to receive the defrauded money and make fraudulent calls. The SIM allegedly used in the offence was issued in his name, while his mobile number was linked to the bank account allegedly used to receive the money.
The prosecution argued that Kaushik played an important logistical role in the syndicate and that technical evidence supported his involvement.
Although Kaushik had spent 6 months in custody, the court said the seriousness of the allegations, the evidence and his alleged role as an integral member of the organised cyber fraud syndicate outweighed the period of incarceration.
“In crimes such as the present one, which are on the rise, the courts are required to exercise greater caution,” the court said while rejecting the bail plea.
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