Punjab and Haryana High Court denies relief to accused in fake virtual court case

The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently denied anticipatory bail to a man in a case where persons were accused of posing as officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and staging a fake virtual courtroom, with one of them impersonating former Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud [Atanu Choudhary v. State of Punjab]..Justice Mahabir Singh Sindhu said that instances of cyber fraud are increasing day-by-day and according to the data maintained by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), an amount of ₹3,207 crore was lost in over 5,82,000 cases of cyber fraud between 2020 and 2024.“In view of the above, modus operandi adopted by the petitioner as well as other co-accused regarding the alleged commission of crime is to be investigated thoroughly and for that purpose, custodial interrogation of the petitioner would be utmost necessary,” the Court said in the order passed on February 03.The accused Atanu Choudhary had moved the Court for anticipatory bail in the case registered by Ludhiana police on a complaint made by Paul Oswal, the Chairman of Vardhman Group. Oswal, a Padma Bhushan awardee, was defrauded of ₹7 crore last year.Choudhary claimed he was falsely implicated in the case and the entries running into ₹25 crore in his account were done without his consent. He also submitted that the bank has already transferred the amount in favour of the complainant.However, the State counsel opposed the plea, contending that custodial interrogation of the accused was necessary. .The police submitted that the accused had orchestrated a sophisticated cyber crime scheme involving the creation and dissemination of forged and fabricated documents purportedly issued by the Supreme Court, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the CBI.“These documents, which included a forged Supreme Court order and an arrest order from the ED, were used to mislead and coerce the complainant into transferring a substantial sum of Rs 7 crores to bank accounts controlled by the petitioner and his associates. The deliberate forgery of documents bearing the seal of the apex court and impersonation of the Hon'ble Chief Justice of India (CJI) during a fake virtual hearing highlight the extreme gravity of the petitioner's actions, warranting stringent action,” Assistant Commissioner of Police Jasvir Singh Gill said..It said that the bank account in which ₹4 crore was transferred by the complainant is directly linked to Choudhary and his associate Nimmi Bhattacharjee, as owners of Frozenman Warehousing and Logistics.The audacious forgery of Supreme Court orders, coupled with the impersonation of the former CJI during a fake hearing, represents an attack on the highest judicial institution of the country, the police said while opposing Choudhary’s plea..Advocates Padamkant Dwivedi and Mansi represented Choudhary.Additional Advocate General Manjot Kaur represented the State of Punjab..Meanwhile, a trial court in Ludhiana on February 10 denied anticipatory bail to two more accused - Alok Rangi and Golam Murtaza. Additional Sessions Judge Jaspinder Singh in the order said,“The accused have impersonated themselves to be CBI and ED officials. Even they have not left the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India. The proceedings of the court of the then Hon'ble Chief Justice of India was also showed to the complainant and complainant was threatened that orders have been passed against him by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India. In my opinion, when such are the allegations, the applicants/accused are not entitled to the concession of anticipatory bail and hence the bail application is hereby dismissed.".[Read High Court order]