Court Criticizes Investigating Officer for Sham Paperwork and Failure to Arrest Co-accused, Orders Release of Vishal Sharma After 10 Months in Custody
In a significant ruling on October 8, 2026, the Delhi High Court granted regular bail to Vishal Sharma, an accused in a cyber fraud case registered under FIR No. 34/2025 at the Cyber Police Station West, Hari Nagar. The case involved allegations that Sharma had received Rs. 1,40,000 as part of an online cheating scheme involving a fake trading app.
Justice Girish Kathpalia, presiding over the bail application, expressed serious concerns over the investigation's stagnation despite the accused being in custody for nearly 10 months. The court observed that the Investigating Officer (IO) had failed to make sincere efforts to apprehend two co-accused persons named Abhishek and Isha Rajput, who were central to establishing the nature of the transactions alleged to be fraudulent.
The complainant, Dipesh Soni, had reported that he was duped into investing Rs. 1,90,000 through interactions with Isha Rajput on the Bumble App, which led to a freeze on his trading account and demands for additional deposits. However, the investigation revealed no concrete progress in tracing Isha Rajput, with indications that the name might be fictitious. Further, the IO had not taken effective action against Bumble App's management, who failed to respond to notices.
Additionally, despite court directions, the IO's efforts remained limited to paperwork without substantive action, such as securing call logs or conversation screenshots from the complainant's mobile phone. The IO also failed to follow up decisively after non-bailable warrants against Abhishek were recalled, and no further steps were taken even after Abhishek ignored subsequent summons.
The court found these lapses indicative of a lack of bona fide investigation and held that continuing to incarcerate Vishal Sharma was unjustified. The prosecution's claim that Sharma was involved in another cyber fraud case in Jaipur was also deemed insufficient to deny bail in this case given the unsatisfactory investigation.
Accordingly, the Delhi High Court ordered Sharma's release on bail, subject to furnishing a personal bond of Rs. 50,000 with one surety of the same amount. The court emphasized that this order should not prejudice the trial court's independent assessment based on the evidence.
This judgment underscores the judiciary's vigilance against prolonged incarceration without meaningful investigative progress, especially in cybercrime matters where evidence collection and timely action are crucial.
Bottom Line:
Bail - Cyber fraud case - Where accused remained in custody for about 10 months and investigation showed standstill with only sham paperwork, no serious effort having been made to trace or arrest co-accused or collect basic electronic evidence, further incarceration of accused held unjustified - Bail granted.
Statutory provision(s):
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 Sections 318(4), 61(2), 3(5)
Vishal Sharma v. State of NCT Delhi, (Delhi) : Law Finder Doc Id # 2993130
