Patna High Court
Anwarul HaqueversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISMISSED
- Bench
- SANDEEP KUMAR
Holding
Bail was not granted to the petitioner.
Summary
Anwarul Haque was arrested in connection with a large‑scale sim‑box operation that involved the activation of hundreds of fake SIM cards and the generation of over 51,000 fraudulent calls, including international VOIP calls converted to local calls, facilitating phishing, fake refunds, and credit‑card scams across several states. The prosecution charged him under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act for offences such as fraud, cheating, and cyber‑crimes. The petitioner applied for bail, arguing that he had been in custody since 21‑07‑2025. The Court examined the seriousness of the alleged offences, the volume of fake SIM cards recovered, and the risk of tampering with evidence, concluding that the gravity of the case warranted continued detention. Consequently, the bail application was dismissed and the trial was directed to be expedited.
Issues considered
- Whether bail should be granted to the accused in view of the alleged large‑scale cyber fraud and the recovery of numerous fake SIM cards.
Legislation cited
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita — s. 111, 318(4), 319(2), 336(2), 336(3), 338, 340(2), 3(5), 42(1), 42(2), 42(6), 43(3), 61(2)
- Information Technology Act — s. 66, 66(c), 66(d), 72
Subjects
- bail
- cyber fraud
- sim box
- economic offences
- Information Technology Act
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
- large‑scale fraud
- criminal procedure
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.125 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-16 Year-2025 Thana- ECONOMIC OFFENCES, BIHAR
District- Patna
======================================================
Anwarul Haque S/O Abdul Quadir R/O Village- Rampur Chandraman, P.S.-
Mahuwa, District- Vaishali
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Muskan Singh, Advocate
For the State : Mr.Mithlesh Kumar Khare, APP
For the EOU : Mr. Vijay Anand, Advocate
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SANDEEP KUMAR
ORAL ORDER
4 25-03-2026 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner; learned APP
for the State and learned counsel for the EOU.
2. The counter affidavit of the EOU is taken on
record. The EOU has also returned to case diary.
3. The petitioner seeks bail in connection with
Economic Offences P.S. Case No. 16 of 2025 registered for the
offence punishable under Sections 318(4), 319(2), 336(2),
336(3), 338, 340(2), 111, 61(2), 3(5), 42(1), 42(2), 43(3), 42(6)
of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 66, 66(c), 66(d)
and 72 of the I.T. Act.
4. As per the prosecution case, a large scale sim box
found was recovered in Vaishali Dstrict, Bihar in which several
POS (Point of Sale) were activated and around 231 mobile
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.125 of 2026(4) dt.25-03-2026
2/2
numbers using fake documents were found. These sim cards
were supplied to a sim box setup operating in Gopalganj and
Siwan District. Between June 2025 and July 2025 these sim
cards were used to generate more than 51,000 calls and
international, VOIP calls were converted into local calls. The
fraud enabled cyber crime such as phishing calls, fake refund,
scams, credit card fraud and customers care scams targeting
victims across Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand and other
states.
5. The petitioner is in custody since 21.07.2025.
6. Considering the fact that the allegation levelled
against the petitioner is of large scale cyber fraud and the fact
that large number of fake sim cards have been recovered, I am
not inclined to grant bail to the petitioner.
7. Accordingly, the application stands dismissed.
8. The Court below is directed to expedite the trial.
(Sandeep Kumar, J)
P. Kumar
U T
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