The Gujarat High Court has granted conditional bail to an electronics engineer accused in an alleged ₹7 crore cyber fraud case after he claimed that he had allowed his childhood friend to use his bank account. During the hearing, the court remarked, “A friend is not always a friend,” and said judicial decisions are based on evidence placed before the court.
Friend Allegedly Used Bank Account
The case involves an electronics engineer from Gandhinagar who works with a private company in Vadodara. During the bail hearing, the applicant told the court that he had no financial difficulties and had trusted his childhood friend.
According to the applicant, the friend asked to use his bank account, claiming that the money to be deposited was from the sale of land and had to be transferred in instalments to reduce tax liability. The friend allegedly promised to pay him ₹25,000 per month in return.
Court Questions Engineer’s Conduct
The engineer told the court that he allowed the transactions because he trusted his friend. He later found that the account had allegedly been used to route money linked to a cyber fraud case, while his friend had reportedly fled to Canada with crores of rupees.
During the proceedings, the High Court questioned how an educated engineer could allow another person to operate his bank account. The court said its decision would depend on the evidence collected during the investigation and placed on record.
Conditional Bail Granted
The investigation is still underway. The court was informed that police have so far traced an alleged fraud of around ₹1 crore, while the wider case relates to an alleged cyber fraud of approximately ₹7 crore.
The High Court observed that the applicant could be considered for bail if he deposited 10 per cent of the allegedly defrauded amount. It clarified that the amount would be returned if he is ultimately found innocent.
The applicant assured the court that he would sell his house and deposit the amount in phases. Taking note of the assurance, the High Court granted him bail on the condition that he deposit ₹20 lakh.
