Raunak Kumar Jha, the petitioner is in judicial custody in connection for the offences punishable under Sections 420, 379 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 66 (c) of the Information Technology Act, lodged on September 13, 2023 by Shahid Alam, the informant. The case was filed in the Patna High Court on July 11, 2024. It was registered on July 19, 2024. The case came up for hearing before the bench of Justice Ashok Kumar Pandey in Court No. 204. Yogesh Chandra Verma, the senior counsel appeared for the petitioner's bail.
Section 420 deals with cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property.
It reads: "Whoever cheats and thereby dishonestly induces the person deceived to deliver any property to any person, or to make, alter or destroy the whole or any part of a valuable security, or anything which is signed or sealed, and which is capable of being converted into a valuable security, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine."
Section 66 (c) deals with punishment for identity theft. It reads: "Whoever, fraudulently or dishonestly make use of the electronic signature, password or any other unique identification feature of any other person, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine with may extend to rupees one lakh."
The punishment for theft under Section 379 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) is imprisonment for up to three years, a fine, or both.
The informant alleged that by hacking his mobile number as also stealing his cheque, altogether Rs. 24,08,327/- were encashed through cash/Online transaction which led to the FIR. Rs 23 lakh was withdrawn online and the remaining amount was withdrawn by cheque.
Justice Nawneet Kumar Pandey bench's order dated August 5, 2024 had called for the case diary which also records the confessional statement of the petitioner where he has detailed out about earlier hacking the mobile of one Rajiv Ranjan to withdraw Rs. 3,00,000/- and this followed the crime committed by him with the informant.
The charge-sheet has been submitted in the matter and in that background, this Court would like to know about the present status of the case before the trial court.
The order dated November 14, 2024, Justice Rajiv Roy of Patna High Court reads:"As such, call for a eport regarding stage of the trial in connection with aforesaid PS Case pending before learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Patna."
Arguing for the bail of the petitioner, Yogesh Chandra Verma took strong objection to the counsel of respondent's claim about bench hunting by the petitioner. The petitioner's counsel pointed out that his client is accused of a bailable offence. He cited Supreme Court's decision in Arnesh Kumar vs State of Bihar case (2014) established that arrests should be the exception when the punishment is less than seven years in prison. This landmark Supreme Court judgment established that bail is the rule, and arrests should be the exception, especially when the potential penalty is less than seven years in prison. Police should evaluate the necessity of an arrest under Section 41 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
Notably, the punishment for theft under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) depends on the value of the stolen property and the type of theft.
Types of theft
Petty theft: Theft of property worth less than ₹1,000
Ordinary theft: Theft of property worth between ₹1,000 and ₹10,000
Aggravated theft: Theft of property worth more than ₹10,000
Theft in a dwelling house: Theft of property from a home
Theft in a vehicle: Theft of property from a transport vehicle
Theft in a place of worship: Theft of property from a temple
Theft of government property: Theft of property belonging to the government
Punishment
Petty theft: Up to three months in jail, a fine, or both
Ordinary theft: Up to three years in jail, a fine, or both
Aggravated theft: Up to seven years in jail, a fine, or both
Theft in a dwelling house: Up to seven years in jail, a fine, or both
In some cases, the punishment for theft can be reduced if the stolen property is returned.
No comments:
Post a Comment