Courts must be cautious while granting pre-arrest bail in cyber economic crime: Karnataka HC

Courts must exercise caution while granting anticipatory bail, especially in cyber economic crimes, the High Court of Karnataka stated in a recent judgement. 

Justice Mohammad Nawaz dismissed the petitions filed by two persons named in a crime under Section 66(B), 66(C) of the Information Technology (IT) Act and under Section 318(2) (3) (4) of BNS. 

The complainant, on behalf of NewSpace Research and Technologies Pvt. Ltd, stated that three former employees, including the two who petitioned the court seeking pre-arrest bail, had conspired to steal sensitive information for the benefit of their current employer, Lenviz Technologies Pvt Ltd. 

The complaint was filed on December 25, 2024, and on January 13, 2025, the trial court had rejected their anticipatory bail petitions, observing that the petitioners, being the ex-employees of the complainant’s company, allegedly colluded to destabilise the national defence data for illegal financial gain. 

Justice Nawaz noted that the complainant is said to specialise in the development of aerospace and defence research, and government agencies such as the Indian Army, the India Air Force, the Indian Navy, BEL, HAL and DRDO are said to be its clients. 

“Custodial interrogation is necessary due to the technical nature of the crime and to reveal the full extent of data theft and its concealment methods. The petitioners’ actions show their ability and willingness to destroy and tamper with evidence. Preliminary findings would establish that the petitioners continued to access, retain and use proprietary information even after their resignation and demonstrates a deliberate attempt to misappropriate data for unlawful benefits, constituting a prima facie case. Granting anticipatory bail could jeopardise investigation and may frustrate the investigating agency in interrogating the accused and collecting useful information and may weaken the ability of law enforcement agencies to combat sophisticated cyber crimes,” Justice Nawaz noted.