Indian Penal Code, 1860
Section 420—Cyber-fraud—Petition to quash FIR on ground of settlement—Amount of rupees fifty thousand was surreptitiously debited from bank account of complainant while he was having a conversation with an individual presenting himself as a customer care executive—FIR contains the account of the incident and details as to how the complainant was duped of amount, and pursuant to conduct of investigation, it was discovered that amount in question had got transferred directly to the bank account maintained by petitioner—Petitioner has himself not disputed the factum of having received such amount in his bank account—Investigation revealed that huge amount of money has been credited to the bank account of petitioner and it is to be investigated whether such amount has been obtained through such illegal or fraudulent means and whether there are other victims of such cyber-fraud—Neither allegations levelled in the FIR are absurd or improbable nor it can be held at this stage that no offence is disclosed against petitioner from the perusal of FIR and investigation conducted so far—Gravity of such allegations cannot be undermined, as they not only jeopardize the financial security and trust of individuals on financial payment gateways/platforms, but also potentially expose the broader public to similar threats—Considering nature of offence, modus operandi adopted by accused as discernible from the contents of FIR which indicates towards commission of a cyber-fraud, and possibility of more victims having fallen pray to such cyber-fraud for which investigation is being carried out by investigating agency, no case made out for quashing of FIR, when even the investigation has not been complete and charge-sheet has yet not been prepared and filed—Petition dismissed.
[Paras 18 & 19]