Bikram Agarwal vs. State By

Held

The Court allowed the petition and ordered the petitioner's release on anticipatory bail. The Court found that while serious allegations were made against Accused No. 1 regarding the hacking of railway software and creation of fake IDs, no serious allegations were made directly against the petitioner in the present FIR. The Court noted that the petitioner had previously appeared voluntarily in Crime No. 758/2019 and was released on bail, and had also cooperated with the investigation in the current matter by responding to notices under Section 41(a) of the Cr.P.C. The Court observed that the petitioner's bonafides were not questionable, and given that the alleged offences were not punishable with death or imprisonment for life, and he had cooperated with the investigation, releasing him on bail with stringent conditions would meet the ends of justice. The Court imposed several conditions, including executing a personal bond of Rs. 2,00,000/- with two sureties, not tampering with evidence, attending trial regularly, not leaving the court's jurisdiction without permission, marking attendance before the jurisdictional police monthly, not indulging in similar criminal activities, and surrendering his passport to the CBI Investigation Officer.

Facts

The petitioner, Bikram Agarwal, filed a criminal petition under Section 438 of the Cr.P.C. seeking anticipatory bail. The bail was sought in connection with Crime No. 16/2020 registered at Rajagopal Nagar Police Station, Bengaluru, for offences under Sections 419, 420 read with Section 34 of the IPC and Sections 43, 65, 66, 66(c), 66(d), and 70 of the Information Technology Act, 2000. The prosecution's case, as presented, involved an alleged hacking of the Railway Department Software (ANMS) by accused No. 1, Ghulam Mustafa, who created over 563 agent IDs on fake names to sell railway tickets online, causing significant loss to the Railways. The petitioner claimed innocence and highlighted his prior involvement in Crime No. 758/2019, where he had voluntarily appeared and was released on bail by the Railway Magistrate. He also stated he is a businessman with a GST number and licenses to sell software, having purchased servers from Amazon Web Services.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner is entitled to anticipatory bail under Section 438 of the Cr.P.C. in connection with Crime No. 16/2020, considering the allegations of cheating and offences under the Information Technology Act? (Question of law and fact, turning on Section 438 Cr.P.C., Sections 419, 420 IPC, and Sections 43, 65, 66, 66(c), 66(d), 70 IT Act). Petitioner's arguments: The petitioner contended that he is innocent and not involved in any case. He submitted that in a previous case (Crime No. 758/2019), he voluntarily appeared and was granted bail. He emphasized that he is a businessman with registered documents, a GST number, and a license to sell software, having made legitimate purchases. He also stated that he had cooperated with the investigation by responding to notices under Section 41(a) of the Cr.P.C. and that his electronic devices seized in the earlier case were already part of court records. He argued that the alleged offences are not punishable with death or life imprisonment, he has deep roots in society, and there is no chance of him absconding. Respondent's arguments: The learned counsel for the respondent remained absent, and there was no representation.