Dismantle cyber cartels, says Punjab and Haryana High Court

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, November 23

Making it clear that cybercrime cannot be treated as an ordinary offence under the Indian Penal Code or other conventional penal laws, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has called for a comprehensive dismantling of cyber cartels, while recognising the need for a specialised approach to combat the intricate web of criminal activities.

The judgment by Justice Vinod S Bhardwaj is significant as it underscores the unique nature of cyber offences, highlighting the involvement of tech-savvy individuals adept at hacking systems, forging records and siphoning funds from disparate locations across the country.

Court flags web of crime

Such crimes are committed by persons who are educated and well conversant with technology, hacking systems, forging records, fabricating accounts, siphoning funds, and all these persons may be sitting in different locations in country. —Justice Vinod S Bhardwaj, Punjab and Haryana High Court

Dismissing any notion of innocence for those involved even in peripheral roles, Justice Bhardwaj also made it clear that though some might be perceived as minor beneficiaries, their complicity in the larger criminal syndicate renders them culpable.

The ruling came as Justice Bhardwaj dismissed a petition seeking the grant of anticipatory bail to a person accused in a case of cheating and criminal conspiracy registered on September 11 under Sections 419, 420 and 120-B of the IPC in Chandigarh.

Justice Bhardwaj’s Bench, during the course of the hearing, was told that the case had been registered on the basis of a complaint by a senior resident at the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32. The complainant had received a random call from someone claiming to oversee the delivery of a package.

She was asked by another person on the phone if she had sent out some package for delivery in Taiwan. When she denied doing so, the person on the other end shared her name and her Aadhaar and phone numbers. She was told about a parcel containing 240 grams of weed that bore her name and other personal details. The fraudsters got her to cough up money by threatening her with action by the CBI and other government agencies.

Opposing the bail, the state counsel argued that the case in hand was just the tip of the iceberg. It was a part of a larger conspiracy that had earned the nation a bad name.

“Such crimes are committed by persons who are educated and well conversant with technology, hacking systems, forging records, fabricating accounts and siphoning funds. And all these persons may be sitting in different locations in the country. While some may be mere small beneficiaries, that does not make them innocent. Such a cartel or syndicate needs to be taken down as a whole,” Justice Bhardwaj observed.