Petition in cryptocurrency case quashed

The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday dismissed a habeas corpus petition, asking the police to produce Harish B V, the co-founder of a city-based crypto-trading start-up, before the court.

The petition was filed by Sathvik Vishwanath, the CEO and co-founder of Unocoin Technologies, who alleged that the police illegally detained Harish.

The court disposed of the petition since the Central Crime Branch police arrested Harish on Tuesday on the basis of an FIR. Harish is also the company’s chief financial and compliance officer.

Harish was produced before the First Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court, which sent him to a seven-day police custody.

A day after Harish’s arrest, the police picked up Vishwanath, though he is in judicial custody. The police said the company had installed the first cryptocurrency kiosk, or ATM, in a mall on Old Airport Road without taking the necessary permission from the state government.