Karnataka HC protects LegalPay officials from arrest in 'marriage invitation' cyberfraud case

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday directed the State not to arrest any person associated with LegalPay Technology Private Limited, in a cyber fraud case tied a fake "marriage invitation" APK file sent through WhatsApp [Kundan Kumar vs State of Karnataka]..The complainant had received a file disguised as a marriage invitation file on WhatsApp. On clicking the link, his phone was hacked, and nearly ₹4 lakh was transferred through a LegalPay payment gateway.A vacation Bench of Justice R Nataraj yesterday clarified that the police are free to continue the investigation into the case and file a final report in accordance with law.However, in the meanwhile, officials affiliated with LegalPay need not be arrested, the Court said. .The order was passed on a petition filed by the founder and director of LegalPay, Kundan Kumar (petitioner). A trial court had earlier rejected his anticipatory bail plea on May 13, 2026.Before the High Court, he contended that he had no role in creating, circulating or transmitting the APK file, nor did he communicate with or induce the complainant to click on the file or part with any money.He added that there was no need for custodial interrogation, since the evidence in the case was largely documentary and electronic in nature.His counsel, Senior Advocate MS Shyam Sundar, argued that LegalPay merely functioned as a payment gateway similar to Paytm and BharatPe, and had no control over fraudulent transactions routed through its platform.Sundar told the Court that LegalPay immediately acted after a complaint was lodged about the cyberfraud. He argued that the company had supplied all details sought by investigators regarding merchants and transactions.Sundar further argued that the trial court had rejected anticipatory bail solely on the ground that there was a prima facie case of fraud, even though the petitioner was not named in the FIR..It was contended that arrest of the company’s director would adversely affect the reputation and share value of LegalPay.Kumar's plea was opposed by the State's Government Pleader, who submitted that several complaints had been registered against LegalPay and that a deeper investigation was necessary.The High Court Government Pleader (HCGP) also informed the Court that she had personally lost ₹10 lakh from her bank account to a LegalPay-linked account and that the investigation into the same was underway..The Court, however, eventually decided to protect Kumar and others associated with LegalPay from arrest. In its order, the Court noted that Kumar was willing to cooperate with the investigation in all respects to ensure that the perpetrator is detected and the transaction was reversed.The Bench, therefore, directed the police to not arrest any person connected with LegalPay Technology Private Limited until completion of investigation.“We’ll protect your interest. No arrest. Let the investigation go on," the Court said.The matter is posted next after the Court's ongoing vacations..Safer not to own a smartphone: CourtDuring the hearing, the judge also commented on increasing cyber fraud linked to smartphones and digital payments, and remarked that it is safer not to own a smarphone these days.Addressing the State's counsel, Justice Nataraj said,“I will give unsolicited advice. Don’t keep a smartphone. If you have a smartphone, this is what happens ... If you cannot handle a smartphone, please don’t keep it ... Plumbers, sweepers, everybody owns smartphones. They want smartphones for WhatsApp, Facebook… You should have one account which should not be linked. You have to be careful."Senior counsel Shyam Sundar added, in a lighter vein.“Even beggars on the street now have Paytm QR codes. They don’t want cash anymore.".Advocate Sangamesh M Navadagi, LNN Legal, appeared for the petitioner.