Soma v. State of Karnataka
In the High Court of Karnataka
CRP 2159/2020
Before Justice H.P. Sandesh
Decided on May 19, 2020

Relevancy of the case: Bail application in a case involving the kidnapping of Ola driver and withdrawal from ATM card

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 67)
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 341, 364A, 397, 323, 354C, 509, 506, 34)
• The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Section 439)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The complainant in the present case is an Ola cab driver. He picked up three customers for a ride.
• After the cab ride was over, they snatched his mobile and car. Further, they detained him in the back of his car.
• The next day, they snatched his ATM card and withdrew ₹30,000 from his account.
• By the time the police started the investigation, the accused persons had escaped.

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

• The petitioner’s counsel argued that the police has not recovered the petitioner’s money. Further, the co-accused persons have been enlarged on bail.
• The counsel also submitted that the petitioner is in judicial custody from March 02, 2020.
• The respondent’s counsel submitted that the incident took place in 2018 and he was absconding from 2018 to 2020. The petitioner filed an anticipatory bail petition earlier and the same was rejected.

Opinion of the Bench

• The petitioner was arrested in March 2020 and he has been in judicial custody since then.
• Although the factual aspects of the case are clear, the amount withdrawn by the accused was not recovered. However, it is a fit case to grant bail.

Final Decision

• The court allowed the petition and granted the bail.

Julia Anna Joseph, an undergraduate student at Christ (Deemed to be University), prepared this case summary during her internship with The Cyber Blog India in January/February 2022.