Gurgaon: Maintaining that cybercrimes pose a significant threat to society by “eroding public confidence” in digital financial transactions, a city court dismissed the regular bail plea of an accused involved in a “digital arrest” case.Additional sessions judge Varsha Jain dismissed the bail plea of Nitin Sharma on Monday and noted that the trial was still at a very initial stage. The court held that the gravity and “far-reaching impact” of cyber fraud warranted denial of bail.The court observed that Sharma was directly involved in the offence by purchasing a bank account and handing it over to cyber criminals operating from Delhi.Complainant Vinay Kumar, who was invited to join a group offering stock-market share trading, lost over Rs 40 lakh. The complainant invested Rs 41.9 lakh before realising that he had been cheated.Kumar was added to an account shared by co-accused Megha Kirar under the name “C-107 Motilal Oswal Udaan School of Change”.An FIR was registered at Cyber Crime South police station in the city under sections 318(4), 319 and 241 of the BNS and Section 66-D of the Information Technology Act in Aug 2025.During the investigation, police found that Rs 10 lakh had been received in the bank account of co-accused Bobari Siriniwas, proprietor of M R Proprietors. Another Rs 20 lakh was deposited in an Axis Bank account of R K Enterprises. The investigation led police to Sharma and other accused. A final report was filed after completion of the investigation.Appearing for Sharma, advocate Raj Kumar Sharma argued that his client was innocent and had been falsely implicated. He submitted that Sharma had been in custody since April 7, 2026, while the investigation had already been completed. According to the defence, the applicant’s implication was based solely on disclosure statements of co-accused.Public prosecutor Pradeep Gulia strongly opposed the bail plea. The prosecution said Sharma procured bank accounts from Yamuna Nagar and supplied them to cyber criminals operating from Delhi. The prosecution submitted that cyber offences were increasing and innocent people were being duped. Such crimes, it argued, have a deep impact on society because they constitute socio-economic offences. The state sought dismissal of the bail application.In reaching its conclusion, the court relied on a July 3, 2025, judgement of Punjab and Haryana High Court in Suhail vs State of Haryana. The HC had held that bail pleas in cybercrime and online-fraud cases require careful consideration of the seriousness of the offence and its societal ramifications.It had also noted that online fraud can affect multiple victims and undermine confidence in digital financial platforms. The court said cybercrime goes beyond individual financial loss, affecting trust and security and having wider implications for society. It clarified that its observations were confined to the bail proceedings and would not be treated as a finding on the merits of the case.
