Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:60153 Court No. - 68 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 44154 of 2024 Applicant :- Deepak Kumar Verma Opposite Party :- State of U.P. Counsel for Applicant :- Abhinav Gaur,Ankit Shukla,Mohd. Rashid Siddiqui,Sr. Advocate Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A. Hon'ble Ashutosh Srivastava,J. Heard Sri Anoop Trivedi, learned Senior Counsel assisted by Sri Abhinav Gaur, learned counsel for the applicant, Sri Yagvalkya Pandey, learned AGA and perused the record. The present bail application has been filed on behalf of applicant with a prayer to release him on bail in Case Crime No. 82 of 2024 for offence punishable under Sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B of the Indian Penal Code & Sections 66-C & 66-D of the Information Technology Act, registered at Police Station Civil Line, District Etawah, during pendency of the trial. Brief facts of the case are that the first information report dated 12.04.2024 has been lodged by the District Panchayat Raj Officer alleging therein that one firm namely M/s Anjish Kumar having an Account No. 5515891905 has been fed using the Financial Admin ID of the first informant in Gram Panchayat Birari Block Bharthana. In the FIR, it has been alleged that in the Admin ID of Gram Panchayat Secretary the name of Atul Kumar has been replaced by the name of Deepak Kumar and the Mobile No. 7217513583 and Email ID yadavramkumar3583@gmail.com has been fed into the computer system. Record reveals that the applicant Deepak Kumar was appointed as contractual employee in the District Panchayat Raj Office, Saharanpur as Assistant District Project Manager. On 17.02.2024, he was transferred to Etawah. The allegation is that the applicant Deepak Kumar sent the ID password of the accounts of some Gram Panchayats of Etawah to Rajnesh via WhatsApp. Rajnesh obtained the Bank Account No. 5515791905 of Account Holder Anjish Kumar, which was opened in the Central Bank of India. Anjish Kumar added the same account using the password given by Deepak Kumar, changing the email ID/ Username/ Password/ Names of Pradhans and Secretaries of Nine Gram Panchayats of Etawah District. In this way, fake bill vouchers of about Rs. 40 Lacs were made and uploaded on Public Finance Management System portal for recovery. The applicant tried to obtain money illegally through forged bill vouchers by committing fraud but due to alertness of the District Gram Panchayat Raj Officer, Etawah, the applicant along with other accused persons could not succeed in their plan. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant is innocent and has been falsely implicated in the present case with ulterior motive. It is further submitted that the Email ID anjishkumar4138@gmail.com as mentioned against the Bank Account No. 5515791905 is of Central Bank of India, which belongs to Anjish Kumar and not to the present applicant Deepak Kumar as such, the applicant has no connection in this crime. The applicant has not received any penny from the alleged transaction and is not a beneficiary thereof. The role assigned to the accused- applicant is to provide the ID Password of the Accounts to Anjish Kumar. He further submits that the Email ID and the IP Address do not relate to the applicant. Learned counsel has next argued that the applicant has no previous criminal history and if the applicant is released on bail, he shall not misuse the liberty of bail. He is languishing in jail since 22.10.2024. Per contra, learned A.G.A. has supported the order passed by the Sessions Court and vehemently opposed the prayer for grant of bail to the applicant and submits that the allegations involved are very serious in nature and the delay in lodging the F.I.R. cannot be said to be fatal to the case at this juncture while considering the application of bail. But he could not point out any material to the contrary. He, however, submits that in case the applicant is released on bail, he will again indulge in similar activities and will misuse the liberty of bail. It is a settled law that while granting bail, the court has to keep in mind the nature of accusation, the nature of the evidence in support thereof, the severity of the punishment which conviction will entail, the character of the accused, the circumstances which are peculiar to the accused, his role and involvement in the offence, his involvement in other cases and reasonable apprehension of the witnesses being tampered with. This Court finds that in India, the rapid advancement of technology and the widespread adoption of digital infrastructure have led to a significant rise in cyber-crimes including phishing scams, ransomware attacks, cyber-stalking and data breaches. Initiatives like Digital India have accelerated the country's' digital transformation, but they have also exposed vulnerabilities that cyber-criminals exploit. Cyber-crime has been affecting the people across the nation, irrespective of religion, region, education or class. Newspapers, Magazines, You Tube Channels and Social Media are brimming with ordeals of an uncountable number of innocent victim of the cyber-crime, who are defrauded of their hard earned money. Such cyber-crimes are rampant in our society, and must be curbed. Cyber-crime in our country is like a silent virus stealthy, disruptive, and costing society more than just money, but trust, security and progress. In view of the above, the Court is not inclined to release the applicant on bail. The bail application is, accordingly, rejected. Order Date :- 12.3.2025 pks/kkr Digitally signed by :- PAWAN KUMAR SINGH High Court of Judicature at Allahabad