Tarun Dutt v. Govt. of NCT, Delhi
In the High Court of Delhi
B.A. 2521/2022
Before Justice Amit Mahajan
Decided on December 26, 2022

Relevancy of the case: Bail application in an insurance scam involving impersonation and hoax calls

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 66D)
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 34, 120B, 420)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The applicant was part of a fake insurance bonus scam scheme that cheated the victim by impersonating the Senior Director of the Income Tax Department, MCA, through fraud calls and fake emails.
• The scammed complainant deposited almost ₹1.2 crores from 2015-2018 in various accounts.
• Bank account KYC Details disclosed the mobile numbers used to fraud the complainant. These mobile numbers were active.
• The chargesheet alleged that the applicant took ₹9,04,350 and ₹2,70,600 in the accounts of his brother-in-law and brother, respectively.
• The Trial Court dismissed the applicant’s bail application, presuming that he would likely tinker with the ongoing investigation.

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

• The applicant’s counsel argued that the applicant was undertrial for almost 2 years in custody while the other co-accused received bail. Further, the applicant’s bail was dismissed on a wrong presumption regarding the likelihood of tinkering with the investigation. Also, while other co-accused secured bail, the applicant is suffering with less possibility of a speedy trial and a grieving family.
• The state’s counsel opposed the bail on the grounds of gravity and manner of offence, disentitling the accused of any consideration.

Opinion of the Bench

• The trial court’s presumption is a bald assertion. Undertrial prisoners cannot be detained for an unknown period if a speedy trial is not possible.

Final Decision

• The bench allowed the bail application with conditions.