Compromise No Ground for Anticipatory Bail in 'Digital Arrest' Fraud on 83-Year-Old: Rajasthan High Court

An 83-year-old pensioner was allegedly held in a 'digital arrest' and made to transfer Rs 80 lakh of her savings (para 7). The Cyber Police Station (ATS & SOG) registered an FIR under Sections 308(6), 318(4), 319(2), 111(4) and 204 of the BNS (para 1). The applicant's first anticipatory bail plea was dismissed on 08.10.2025, and his petition to quash the FIR failed, with the Supreme Court dismissing his SLP (paras 2-3). In a fresh plea he relied on a compromise and said he had only sold cryptocurrency to a co-accused (para 4). The State said he was the kingpin, that 34 mule accounts and hawala channels were used, and that 18 people had been arrested (paras 8-9).

The record prima facie showed the applicant as a key conspirator in an international cyber-fraud racket: the money was routed through 34 mule accounts, linked to 187 complaints on the portal, sent through hawala channels to Dubai and used to buy Bitcoin/USDT (para 14). The victim's vulnerability and the size of the fraud lent serious weight to the prosecution case (para 14). With 18 arrests, the investigation was at a crucial stage; custodial interrogation, recovery of phones, laptops and SIM cards, and unearthing the larger conspiracy could not be ruled out, and anticipatory bail would impede it (para 15). The compromise did not impress the Court: it was signed by the applicant's father, not by him, and the offence has far-reaching effects on society (para 15). Citing Gian Singh, Nariender Singh and other rulings, the Court said such cases cannot be lightly compounded on a purported settlement (para 15). The complainant told the Court she had signed the compromise under medical and financial compulsion (para 11). His plea of bona fide crypto dealings did not dislodge the prima facie case (para 15).