[Redacted] v. State
In the High Court of Madras
Crl. O.P. 24618/2022
Before Justice C. V. Karthikeyan
Decided on December 22, 2023

Relevancy of the case: Cancellation of bail in a case involving forgery and cheating by personation through computer resources

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 66D)
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 120B, 354C, 384, 406, 419, 420, 465, 467, 468, 471, 500, 506)
• The Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act, 2000 (Section 4)
• The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Section 439(2))

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The complainant and the first accused (A1) were in a relationship. They both worked for a movie together in a producing company owned by the complainant.
• The complainant trusted A1 and A2 with access to her accounts, company accounts, and digital signature.
• A1, along with 11 other accused persons, cheated the complainant with her valuable money, causing a substantial loss.
• The police arrested A1 during the investigation after his confession statement. They also seized a laptop and three unregistered documents in the investigation, after which the investigation was stopped.
• The court granted bail on A1’s application. In this petition, the complainant seeks to cancel the bail.

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

• The complainant’s counsel submitted that the bail order is cryptic.
• The accused’s counsel argued that the court granted bail for necessary reasons.

Opinion of the Bench

• The investigation had not commenced in light of the passed bail order.
• The order of bail has put a stop to the investigation.
• The only option is to set aside the bail order and direct the accused to surrender before the police.

Final Decision

• The court allowed the petition and set aside the bail, ordering A1 to surrender before the police within 15 days.

As per one of our guidelines, we have removed the petitioner’s name from the case title. This guideline is available here.