State of Uttarakhand v. Mr. Anchit Khokher, learned counsel for the

Judgment

1. The pr esent bail applicat ion has been filed on behalf of t he applicant , Ravinder Kum ar, seeking r egular bail in connect ion wit h FI R No. 15 of 2024, regist ered at Police St at ion Cyber Crim e, Rudrapur , Dist rict Udham Singh Nagar, for offenses punishable under Sect ions 420, 120- B, 34 of t he I ndian Penal Code, 1860 ( I PC) and Sect ion 66D of t he I nform at ion Technology Act , 2000.

2. Hear d t he learned counsel for t he applicant and t he lear ned counsel for t he St at e. Perused t he r ecor ds.

The lear ned counsel for t he applicant , Mr. Anchit Khokher cont ends t hat t he applicant has been in j udicial cust ody since June 29, 2024 and has been falsely im plicat ed in t he case and t hat he has no connect ion wit h t he alleged offense. I t is ar gued t hat t he applicant ’s nam e does not appear in t he FI R and t hat he was arrest ed m erely on t he basis of suspicion. Furt herm or e, it is subm it t ed t hat t he applicant is a person of lim it ed educat ion and lacks t he t echnical ex pert ise t o execut e such a sophist icat ed cybercrim e.

4. On t he ot her hand, t he learned counsel for t he St at e, Mr. S.C. Dum ka, st rongly opposes t he bail applicat ion, 1 subm it t ing t hat t he applicant is a k ey conspirat or in a well- organized cy ber fraud schem e, w ho’s nam e surfaced during invest igat ion.

5. The lear ned A.G.A., alleges t hat t he applicant , t he guise of a financial advisor, induced t he com plainant int o t ransferring subst ant ial sum s of m oney under false pr et ences. I t is furt her subm it t ed t hat significant evidence, including digit al recor ds, bank t ransact ions, and wit ness st at em ent s, est ablishes t he applicant ’s orchest rat ing t he fraudulent act ivit ies.

6. Upon an independent exam inat ion of t he case recor d, t his Cour t finds t hat t he allegat ions against t he applicant pert ain t o an int ricat e cybercrim e schem e involving financial am ount ing t o ₹8 9 ,2 0 ,0 0 0 / - . The invest igat ion has revealed t hat m ult iple bank account s and digit al paym ent channels were used t o launder t he defrauded am ount , and sev eral financial inst rum ent s, including debit cards, passbooks, and m obile SI M cards, wer e r ecov er ed from t he applicant ’s possession.

7. The nat ur e of t he offense is such t hat it involves a high degree of planning and coordinat ion, m aking t he possibilit y of t am pering wit h digit al evidence and influencing wit nesses a serious concer n. Giv en t he com plexit y of cyber fraud invest igat ions, wher e elect ronic records and financial t ransact ions form t he prim ary basis of evidence, grant ing bail at t his st age could ham per t he st at e’s abilit y t o t race t he full ext ent of t he fraudulent net work .

8. Furt herm or e, t he applicant ’s role in facilit at ing and execut ing fraudulent t ransact ions cannot be consider ed peripheral or incident al. The forensic analysis of digit al devices and financial t rail present ed by t he St at e prim a facie indicat es t hat t he applicant was in direct com m unicat ion wit h ot her co- accused. Furt herm or e, t he bank account st at em ent s show s t hat fraudulent ly obt ained funds from vict im s w er e deposit ed int o account s cont rolled by t he applicant .

9. Addit ionally, during t he course of invest igat ion m ult iple recoveries like - fiv e debit cards, sev en cheque book s from differ ent banks, six passbooks, 27 act ivat ed SI M cards, a QR scanner link ed t o a fraudulent bank account and a seal of Pranya Healt h Car e ( suspect ed t o be a shell com pany) , have been m ade.

10. On per usal of t he recor ds at t his j unct ure and on hearing t he learned counsels of t he part ies, t his Court is of t he consider ed opinion t hat cases involving cyber require a height ened degree of j udicial scrut iny , given t heir far- reaching im plicat ions on public confidence in financial securit y and digit al t ransact ions. The sca l e o f f i n a n ci a l d e ce p t i o n , t he m a n n e r i n w h i ch t h e f r a u d w a s e x e cu t e d , and t he p o t e n t i a l r i sk o f e v i d e n ce t a m p e r i n g weigh against t he grant of bail at t his st age.

11. Wit hout going int o furt her det ails as it m ay affect s t he m erit s of t he case, t he court is of t he opinion t hat t he gravit y of t he allegat ions, t he ext ensiv e financial losses incurred, and t he st rengt h of t he ev idence placed on recor d, t his Court finds no sufficient ground t o grant bail t o t he applicant .

12. r e j e ct e d . Accordingly, t he present bail applicat ion st ands ( A sh i sh N a i t h a n i , J.)

03.03.2025