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TITLE: Gurmeet Singh v State of Punjab   

Decided On-:21.07.2023

CRM-M-46621-2022

CORAM: Hon’ble Justice Mr. Anoop Chitkara

INTRODUCTION- The petitioner had come before this Court under Section 438 CrPC seeking anticipatory bail. The petitioner, who was facing arrest in the FIR referred to above, was accused of locating candidates who could successfully complete the online examination for the recruitment of Police Sub Inspectors in the State of Punjab. In a ruling dated April 10, 2023, this court had approved temporary bail.

FACTS OF THE CASE

The prosecution’s claim is that on September 16, 2021, the SHO of Police Station Anaaj Mandi in Patiala secretly learned that online tests for hiring various departments were being held at a centre run by Infra IT Solutions, Zila Parishad. The computers have been breached by Complex, Patiala, and a few hackers.

The source added. stated that one candidate, Gurpreet Singh, received the highest marks in the August 2021 Sub Inspector recruitment exam. He took the exam at the Infra IT Solutions testing facility. It was further stated that Gurpreet Singh did not receive his high marks on the basis of merit but rather as a result of a group of cybercriminals hacking computer centres and someone else remotely answering his question paper.

While conducting their investigation, they detained the aforementioned candidate Gurpreet Singh and continued to detain numerous other suspects. Ankit, one of the arrested suspects, informed the investigator of the petitioner’s involvement on September 22, 2021. He added that the petitioner used to register candidates for exams at the testing location.

COURT ANALYSIS AND DECISION

Additionally, the State’s attorney claimed that, in accordance with the court’s observations, the police are still looking into the case and have obtained prima facie evidence of numerous communications and transactions between the petitioner and other accused persons linking his involvement with the aforementioned offence. The Deputy Superintendent of Police stated in an affidavit that they wanted the custodial investigation to know the roles of other people involved in the recruitment scams, including the beneficiaries, and that this scam had already halted the recruitment for Sub Inspectors.

this Court is not considering the evidence qua disclosure statement, but the evidence collected after such disclosure statements which point out three relevant facts:-

• The petitioner had worked with the said centre.
• (ii) After Jasvir Kumar left the centre, the petitioner had worked there.
• (iii) There are various communications between the petitioner and other accused which the petitioner had failed to explain

Counsel relied on various ruling while submitting his arguments.

The Executive is responsible for making sure that software used to handle such sensitive information is secure, error-proof, and that its code was written with today’s exponential technological advancements in mind. They are also responsible for preventing hackers from abusing artificial intelligence. In the case of cybercrime, there can be no leniency when handling the bail requests of cyberthugs. Cybercriminals must be dealt with harshly, and incarceration interrogation of these cyberthugs in such sensitive matters is necessary not only to reveal the involvement of other people but also to identify the weakness in the systems to thwart future breaches.

 Petition dismissed

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Written by-  Steffi Desousa

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