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Judgment
VIKRAM AGGARWAL, J. (ORAL)
This order shall dispose of the afore-titled petitions, all filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short, ‘the BNSS’), for the grant of regular bail to the petitioners in case FIR No.21, dated 03.07.2023 registered at Police Station Cyber Crime, Kaithal, District Kaithal, under Sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B IPC (offence under Section 201 IPC added subsequently).
Custody certificates dated 12.11.2026 and 13.11.2026 filed in Court today are taken on record.
On a complaint submitted by one Santokh Singh, the FIR in question was registered. The allegation is of a cyber fraud having been committed with the complainant for a sum of Rs.23 lakhs. It was alleged by the complainant that on 29.05.2023, at about 03:45 PM, he received a phone call on his mobile phone. The caller claimed to be the nephew (brother’s son) of his wife who stated that he was coming to India. Thereafter, he gave a call again and asked him to deposit Rs.3 lakhs to be paid to the doctors in Italy. Initially, a sum of Rs.15,000/- was transferred by the complainant. Thereafter, he received repeated phone calls from different numbers by the same person, in which he claimed money on different pretexts mainly on account of ill-health of relatives etc. A total sum of Rs.23 lakhs is stated to have been transferred by the complainant. When the complainant realized that he had been defrauded, he got the FIR registered.
During the course of investigation, it was found that a sum of Rs.23 lakhs had been deposited by the complainant in different bank accounts. One Dharmender Kumar was initially joined in investigation and was ultimately arrested. He named one Kishore Kumar who was also arrested. Kishore Kumar then named one Shahrukh Khan. Other bank accounts were also investigated. Ultimately, in August, 2024, the name of the petitioners surfaced.
The role of the petitioner-Sunil Alias Suneel in CRM-M-50478-2026, as given in status report is as under:-
“That, during the investigation, it was revealed that accused Sunil was the account holder of HDFC Bank Account No. 50100606377518. IFSC HDFC0007071. That Sunil knowingly provided his bank account along with the cheque book and other account-related documents to Mohammad Ariz for use in cyber fraud, in consideration of ₹10,000/-, Thereafter, the said account was handed over to co-accused Shakiv Mohammad as part of a chain of bank accounts procured for the commission of cyber-fraud-The investigation further revealed that the bank accounts were subsequently supplied to co-accused Asif Ali and then to the main accused Anand for their use in the alleged cyber-fraud operation. Thus, the alleged role of Sunil was to facilitate the cyber-fraud operation by providing his bank account for use by the co-accused persons.”
The role of the petitioner-Shakiv Mohammad in CRM-M-50759-2026, as given in status report is as under:-
“Shakiv Mohammad's role is that of a key intermediary in procuring and supplying bank accounts for use in the cyber-fraud operation. Shakiv Mohammad was involved in arranging, procuring and supplying bank accounts for their subsequent use in cyber fraud. He induced Mohammad Ariz to procure bank accounts of Sunil, Salim and himself and thereafter obtained the said accounts along with his own HDFC bank account and one Yes Bank account. He subsequently supplied the details/kits of five bank accounts to co-accused Asif Ali for a consideration of Rs.1,00,000/- at the rate of Rs.20,000/- per account. The said five bank accounts were thereafter supplied by Asif Ali to main accused Anand for Rs.1,50,000/- and were used in the commission of the cyber fraud. Thus, the petitioner facilitated the procurement and onward supply of bank accounts which formed part of the chain through which the cyber fraud was committed.”
The role of the petitioner-Asif Ali in CRM-M-51281-2026, as given in status report is as under:-
“Role of Asif Ali has emerged as an intermediary in the chain of providing bank accounts for use in cyber fraud. That Shakiv stated that Asif was his known person and that he had handed over the details/kits of five bank accounts, including HDFC Bank Account No. 50100606379932 and one Yes Bank account, to Asif Ali Shakib further disclosed that he received Rs.1,00,000/-from Aaif Ali at the rate of Rs.20,000/- per bank account and paid Rs.45,000/- to Mohammad Ariz for three hank accounts. Accused Asif Ali himself admitted that he had received the kits of five bank accounts from Shakiv Mohammad, including the accounts of Shakiv Mohammad, Sunil, Mohammad Ariz and Salim, and thereafter handed over the said bank-account kits to Anand at Som Bazar Park, Sector-45, Noida. Asif further disclosed that Anand paid him Rs.1,50,000/- for the five accounts, out of which he retained Rs.50,000/- as his commission and paid Rs.1,00,000/- to Shakib Mohammad. Asif Ali acted as a link intermediary between Shakib Mohammad and Anand, facilitating the transfer/sale of five bank accounts for their subsequent use in the cyber-fraud operation.”
Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioners have been falsely implicated. It has been submitted that no recovery has to be made from the petitioners; they are in custody for the last more than 06 months; the case is triable by the Court of Judicial Magistrate Ist Class; investigation has been completed; final report has been submitted; conclusion of trial will take a considerably long time, therefore, no useful purpose would be served by keeping the petitioner in custody any longer.
Per contra, learned State counsel has opposed the bail application, stating that the allegations are very serious.
I have considered the submissions made by learned counsel for the parties.
No doubt, the allegations are serious. However, it has to be borne in mind that the name of the petitioners did not surface in the first layer. The roles attributed to them are not such, which may have led this Court to decline the concession of regular bail. The petitioner-Sunil is in custody for the last 07 months and 12 days. There are two other FIRs registered against him in which he is on bail. The petitioner-Shakiv Mohammad is in custody for the last 06 months and 22 days. His antecedents are clean. The petitioner-Asif Ali is in custody for the last 06 months and 21 days. His antecedents are also clean. Investigation has been completed. Final report has been submitted. Charges have been framed. Out of 23 witnesses, none has been examined. It is therefore evident that the trial will take a considerably long time and in the considered opinion of this Court, no useful purpose would be served by keeping the petitioners in custody any longer.
In view of the aforementioned facts and circumstances, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, the present petitions are allowed. The petitioners are ordered to be released on regular bail on their furnishing bail/surety bonds to the satisfaction of the concerned trial Court/Chief Judicial Magistrate/Duty Magistrate.
Pending application(s), if any, shall also stand disposed of.
A photocopy of this order be placed on the files of other connected cases.