Delhi HC grants bail to man accused in fraud case

The Delhi High Court granted bail to Vikas Kumar, accused of duping a man of ₹1.3 crore, citing lack of evidence and unusual claims by prosecution.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted bail to a 52-year-old man accused of allegedly duping a person of more than ₹1.3 crore by promising a ₹5 lakh refund upon depositing the amount.

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A bench of justice Girish Kathpalia passed an order saying that he found no justification to deprive the man identified as Vikas Kumar, of his liberty, particularly with the prosecution’s “strange claim” that the victim spent more than ₹80 lakh to obtain a refund of ₹5 lakh.

“Considering the overall circumstances, especially the prosecution’s strange claim that to obtain a refund of ₹5 lakh, the complainant spent more than ₹80 lakh, I find no reason to further deprive the accused/applicant of liberty. Therefore the bail application is allowed,” the order stated.

The order was passed while dealing with Kumar’s petition seeking bail in a case registered in 2017 under sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Kumar was represented by advocates Aman Singh Bakshi and Shreesh Chadha.

According to the FIR, the complainant alleged that in August 2015, he received a call from a person claiming to be an official from the Ministry of Finance. The person told the complainant that a ₹5 lakh refund was pending and asked him to deposit ₹26 lakh to process it. After the complainant transferred the money, the caller switched off his phone. In October 2015, another caller made a similar claim and demanded ₹31 lakh, which the complainant deposited, but again received no refund. In January 2016, a third caller asked him to deposit ₹80 lakh, which he deposited. The complainant reached out to the police, who later found he had been cheated by a gang of professional fraudsters.

Kumar was arrested on August 2, 2024, on allegations that he was part of the gang and actively involved in cheating the complainant and other individuals. He had several cases registered against him in 2015 and 2016.

Kumar’s lawyers asserted that the version presented in the FIR was not believable and that the allegations were entirely false and fabricated.

The Delhi Police, represented by additional public prosecutor Hemant Mehla, opposed the bail plea, arguing that Kumar was involved in five other cases of a similar nature and had also received ₹30 lakh from the co-accused.

However, advocate Bakshi countered that Kumar had been acquitted in three cases after the trial. Of those cases, one FIR was quashed. In the remaining case, he was granted bail and received the aforementioned ₹30 lakh as brokerage because he works as a property dealer in Mohali