Rajasthan HC Grants Bail in Cyber-Fraud Case With Sweeping Digital Surveillance Conditions

The Rajasthan High Court at Jaipur released four accused in a cyber-fraud FIR on bail, attaching twelve conditions covering digital assets, VPN use, and device disclosure.

Justice Ravi Chirania, sitting singly at the Jaipur Bench of the Rajasthan High Court, on 15 June 2026 granted bail to four accused persons — Maksood Alias Kada, Abbash, Javed (all sons of Azmat, residents of Village Garhi Mewat, District Deeg), and Ansar son of Asmal (Village Rojki, District Deeg) — who had been arrested in connection with FIR No. 0085/2026 registered at Police Station Khoh, District Deeg. The FIR alleged offences under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 66-D of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008. The District and Sessions Judge, Deeg had already rejected their bail on 22 May 2026. The High Court allowed the application under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), but attached twelve bail conditions that go well beyond the standard terms, targeting the accused's entire digital footprint.

The FIR and Charges

FIR No. 0085/2026, dated 9 April 2026, was registered at Police Station Khoh, District Deeg. The accused faced charges under Sections 319(2), 318(4), 308(2), 317(2), 317(4), 317(5), 338, 336(3), 340(2), 61(2)(a), 313, and 303(2) of the BNS, along with Section 66-D of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008. Section 66-D of the IT Act deals with cheating by impersonation using a computer resource.

All four accused were confined in District Jail, Deeg at the time of the application. Their bail application before the Sessions Court had been rejected on 22 May 2026, prompting the present petition before the High Court under Section 483 BNSS.

Arguments Before the High Court

Mr. Girish Khandelwal, appearing for the petitioners, submitted that the accused had no criminal antecedents of a similar nature and that no complaint had been registered against them on the ‘1930’ portal — the national cyber-crime reporting helpline. He further submitted that the accused had been falsely implicated.

Mr. Manvendra Singh Shekhawat, the Public Prosecutor, strongly opposed the bail application.

The Court's Reasoning

Justice Chirania did not comment on the merits of the case. The court's stated basis for granting bail was the nature of the allegations as reported in the FIR, the absence of criminal antecedents of a similar nature, and the absence of any complaint against the accused on the ‘1930’ portal. On those facts, the court found it “just and proper to enlarge the accused-petitioners on bail.”

The significance of the order lies not in the grant of bail itself but in the conditions attached. Given that the FIR involved alleged cyber-fraud, the court fashioned a set of twelve conditions designed to give the Investigating Officer (IO) continuous visibility over the accused's digital activities throughout the trial. The conditions address cryptocurrency holdings, VPN and anonymising software, social media accounts, electronic devices with IMEI numbers, and periodic bank-account statements — a level of digital disclosure rarely seen in a standard bail order.

The Twelve Bail Conditions

The court directed the following:

1. Each accused shall furnish a personal bond of ₹1,00,000 with two sureties of ₹50,000 each to the satisfaction of the trial court.
2. Within 15 days of the order, each accused shall file an affidavit before the trial court or IO disclosing all movable and immovable assets, including land, buildings, vehicles, deposits, investments, bank accounts, digital wallets, UPI IDs, and cryptocurrency holdings allegedly used in the offence or held in their name.
3. The accused shall submit complete transaction statements of all active bank accounts, UPI IDs, and digital payment instruments to the IO every 30 days until completion of the trial.
4. The accused shall not obtain or use any new SIM card, mobile phone, or open a new bank account without prior intimation to the IO.
5. The accused shall surrender their passports, if any, to the trial court immediately after release, and shall not leave India without the trial court's prior permission.
6. The accused shall not use any Virtual Private Network (VPN), TOR Browser, Proxy Server, or any other form of anonymous network or identity-masking technology without the IO's permission.
7. Within 15 days of release, the accused shall submit to the IO a comprehensive list of all electronic devices in their possession — mobile phones, laptops, tablets, external hard disks, and pen drives — along with their IMEI numbers and serial numbers.
8. The accused shall provide the IO with details of all social media accounts, e-mail accounts, domain registrations, websites, and online platforms operated or used by them.
9. The accused shall not create any social media account, domain name, or website in any person's name without prior intimation to the IO.
10. The accused shall mark their presence before the concerned police station once every 15 days as fixed by the IO, and the IO shall maintain a register for this purpose.
11. Any change of residential address must be immediately communicated to the IO and the trial court.
12. The accused shall appear before the IO whenever called upon, cooperate fully with the investigation, and shall not tamper with evidence, influence witnesses, or obstruct the investigation in any manner.

The court further directed that any breach of these conditions, failure to provide required information, or involvement in similar cases within three years of the order shall entitle the Public Prosecutor to move for cancellation of bail.

Outcome

S.B. Criminal Miscellaneous Bail Application No. 8952/2026 was allowed. Maksood Alias Kada, Abbash, Javed, and Ansar are directed to be released from District Jail, Deeg upon furnishing the required bonds and sureties, subject to all twelve conditions set out in the order dated 15 June 2026.