Punjab and Haryana High Court: Delay in cybercrime probe no ground for bail

Tribune News Service

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, April 18

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear that the absence of immediate arrest or naming of an accused in an FIR does not eclipse or diminish the severity of the crime committed. Justice Anoop Chitkara of the High Court also made it clear that delay in conclusion of probe in cyber crimes cannot be construed as conscious endeavour on the investigator’s part to delay the investigation as they often lack necessary expertise and educational qualifications.

Justice Chitkara was hearing arguments on a petition seeking anticipatory bail in a case allegedly involving issuance of fake tax collection receipts. An FIR in the matter was registered in June 2022 for cheating, forgery and other offences at Mohali vigilance bureau police station under Sections of 420, 465, 467, 471 and 120-B of the IPC and the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

One of the arguments by the petitioner’s counsel before Justice Chitkara’s Bench was that the FIR was registered in June 2022 and the investigation with regard to the co-accused was completed. The challan in the matter was presented way back in September 2022. But the investigator now wanted to arrest the petitioner after the delay without any explanation to justify the same.

The state counsel, on the other hand, submitted that presentation of challan against the co-accused did not entitle the petitioner to bail. The investigation was going on while filing the challan against the co-accused. Besides this, the investigation into the matter pertaining to cybercrimes required an extended period due to the inherent complexities and challenges associated with such cases.

Justice Chitkara asserted: “An analysis of these submissions leads to the outcome that simply because the petitioner was initially not arrested and not named in the FIR does not mean that the crime which he committed also eclipsed. It needs no saying that cyber law is an emerging field and even the investigators are neither well-skilled, nor possess the requisite educational qualifications required to tackle cyber crimes. Thus, if they take more than usual time to complete the investigation, it cannot be taken against the investigator as a deliberate attempt to delay the investigation. Therefore, the petitioner is not entitled to bail for the delay in investigation.”

Dismissing the plea, Justice Chitkara added custodial interrogation was required, given the nature of allegations. An analysis of the allegations and evidence collected also did not warrant the grant of bail to the petitioner.

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