The Supreme Court has denied bail to an accused in a cybercrime case after taking note of 3 identical criminal antecedents linked to him. Justice J.B. Pardiwala observed that “cyber crime is like an addiction” as it involves “easy money”.
A bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K. Vinod Chandran was hearing a Special Leave Application challenging the Jharkhand High Court’s rejection of the bail plea.
The accused is facing a case before the Additional Sessions Judge-II-cum Cyber Crime Special Court at Deoghar. He was booked under Sections 111(2), 111(3), 111(4), 319(2), 318(4), 338, 336(3), 340(2) and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, along with Sections 66B, 66C and 84C of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
The petitioner and a co-accused were arrested with SIM cards and mobile phones. The Jharkhand High Court noted that the seized phones contained material impersonating Flipkart Customer Care, Amazon Customer Care, Airtel Payment Bank, PhonePe Customer Care and the PM Kisan Yojna. The material allegedly indicated the petitioner’s involvement in cybercrime.
The accused told the Supreme Court that he had been in custody for 1 year. He said his co-accused had received bail after 1 year in custody. He also submitted that he was 26 years old, had a child to care for and had no other source of income.
His counsel also pointed out that only 1 witness had been examined during the past year.
The State, however, informed the court that the petitioner had 3 identical criminal antecedents. His counsel said he was aware of only 1 such case and agreed to provide instructions on the matter.
The Supreme Court said it could have considered bail but for the 3 identical antecedents. It instead directed that the trial be conducted expeditiously and completed within 6 months. The High Court had also directed the trial to be completed within 6 months from its July 10, 2026 order.
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