Delhi HC denies bail to foreigner held for digital matrimonial fraud

Delhi High Court denied bail to Paul Onyeji Auth, a foreign national, for using fake identities in a cyber fraud scheme, citing national security concerns.

Possessing forged identity documents and using fake passports to create false digital identities is a serious offence impacting national security and law enforcement, the Delhi high court held, while denying bail to a foreign national accused of duping people through fake matrimony profiles and morphed digital identities.

Auth was arrested in a cheating case in 2022, based on a complaint lodged by one Manpreet Kaur, who alleged that she was cheated of ₹55,900 by an individual who she met through a matrimonial website. (Representative photo)

A bench of justice Shailender Kaur denied bail to foreign national Paul Onyeji Auth on July 10, after a trial court denied him bail in 2023. In his plea, Atuh contended that he had already spent three years in jail for an offence in which he was falsely implicated.

Delhi Police, represented by additional public prosecutor Meenakshi Dahiya, opposed the bail on the grounds that Auth was an integral part of an organised cyber fraud network that systematically targeted innocent victims by using fake matrimony profiles and morphing digital identities. She further submitted that besides the current FIR, two other FIRs involving same allegations had been registered, and his release would hamper the probe.

Rejecting Auth’s contention, justice Kaur, in her ruling on Saturday, said, “The possession of forged identity documents and the usage of fake passports to create and operate online aliases are serious offences implicating national security and law enforcement.”

Auth was arrested in a cheating case in 2022, based on a complaint lodged by one Manpreet Kaur, who alleged that she was cheated of ₹55,900 by an individual who she met through a matrimonial website. She alleged that Auth had introduced himself as “Dr Ankit Verma”, a resident of Canada, and later sought her help on the grounds that he had been detained by Customs officials at the IGI Airport for carrying excessive currency and had to pay ₹55,900 in penalty.

He was arrested in May 2022, and charges of cheating, criminal conspiracy and cheating by personation by using computer resources under the Information Technology Act were framed.

While denying bail, the court in its 10-page ruling, took note of the fact that Auth had entered the country on a student visa and later became an active participant of a structured international cyber fraud racket, involved in using fake profiles and digital morphing tools, such as “DingTone App”, to forge identities.

“In the present case, given the international and organized character of the syndicate, the technical sophistication of the modus operandi, the presence of multiple victims and multiple FIRs, and the absence of any mitigating circumstance or compelling ground warranting bail, this Court is not inclined to exercise its discretion in favour of the petitioner. The nature and scope of operation, as revealed by the investigation, demonstrates that this was not an isolated or impulsive act of deceit, but a meticulously executed plan involving the use of fake profiles and digital tools,” the judgment read.