In a recent case in the Madhya Pradesh High Court, the police unearthed a massive pan-India cheating and forgery crime involving a senior citizen from Karnataka, a man from Madhya Pradesh and fraudsters who duped both of them by misrepresenting themselves to be officials of SBI Life, Bharti AXA, Kotak Life and other institutions.
What happened was that some persons duped two people, one in Madhya Pradesh and another in Karnataka. Both of these two people were told that they (fraudsters) had connections with big insurance companies and could help them get money in exchange for a fee.
Believing into this lie, the Madhya Pradesh man gave Rs 26.15 lakh to various bank accounts as instructed by the fraudsters. Of this Rs 26.15 lakh, Rs 15.15 lakh was transferred to a senior citizen individual’s ICICI Bank Tumakuru, Karnataka branch bank account.
Mr Jayaramaiah is a 78-year-old retired IFS officer who resides in Tumakuru, Karnataka and uses a basic keypad phone. The reason Jayaramaiah got duped was that he too believed the lies told by the fraudster and gave his debit card details and bank account details to the fraudster, who then instructed the Madhya Pradesh man to transfer Rs 15.15 lakh to this account.
Advocate Bhanu Pratap Yadav and Advocate Shivani Raikwar representing this Madhya Pradesh based individual (complainant) told the court that various persons, by posing themselves as representatives of SBI Life, Bharti AXA, Kotak Life and other institutions, obtained a total amount of Rs 26 lakh (26,11,808) from him through various bank accounts and electronic modes by making false representations, using forged documents, and giving misleading assurances in the name of insurance policies, policy bonuses, cancellation of policies, and release of funds.
On July 13, 2024, this Madhya Pradesh-based individual victim of this fraud filed a police complaint. The police investigated the case and found out that the Madhya Pradesh-based individual had transferred about Rs 15.15 lakh to Jayaramaiah's ICICI Bank Tumakuru branch account between July 6 and December 26 of 2023.
Thus, acting on this information, the Madhya Pradesh Police called Jayaramaiah and said that his name came up in a cheating and forgery case (Crime No. 149/2024) at Bamhori Kala Police Station, Tikamgarh District, Madhya Pradesh, for criminal offences punishable under various Sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
This call is the reason why Jayaramaih got to know for the first time that the callers who had told him that they had connections in insurance companies were actually fraudsters, and this Rs 15.15 lakh money in his bank account was the proceeds of a cheating and forgery crime that happened with a Madhya Pradesh-based man.
Now this started a set of trouble for Jayaramaih as he was now stated to be arrested in connection with this forgery and cheating and questioned. Thus Jayaramaih filed a case in Karnataka High Court seeking transit bail.
Advocate Sandeep Kumar Sen, who represented Jayaramaih, assured the court that his client (Jayaramaih) would cooperate with the investigation and appear before the Investigating Officer as and when required, subject to reasonable notice. Sen also said that his client (Jayaramaih) did not knowingly participate in, or facilitate, or derive any benefit from the alleged fraudulent transactions which happened with the Madhya Pradesh based man.
The Karnataka High Court in Bengaluru, after hearing his case, allowed his transit bail application (Criminal Petition No. 9230/2026).
After this winning the transit bail case in Karnataka High Court, Jayaramaih filed an anticipatory bail application in the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
Justice Ajay Kumar Nirankari of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on August 18, 2026, gave relief from arrest to Mr Jayaramaiah from Tumakuru, Karnataka, after the police wanted to arrest him in connection with the cheating and forgery case. Though Jayaramaiah won the anticipatory bail case, the police investigation into this cheating and fraud case continues, and the court did not clear Jayaramaiah from this case. So the investigation goes on.
Amit Pandey, Government Advocate for Madhya Pradesh State opposed Jayaramaiah’s anticipatory bail application as the allegations against him are very serious and relate to an economic offence involving cheating, forgery and use of forged documents. Moreover, Pandey said that Jayaramaiah’s ICICI Bank account in Tumakuru, Karnataka was directly used for receiving the alleged proceeds of the crime.
So, even if Jayaramaiah alleges that he himself is a victim of fraud, this matter needs to be separately investigated. A small extract of what Pandey told the court: “....The investigation is still in progress and the role of the Applicant (Jayaramaiah), as well as the manner in which the funds were received and subsequently withdrawn, requires detailed investigation….”
Advocate Rishabh Singh, Partner at Nibtara Law said to ET Wealth Online that Jayaramaiah succeeded primarily because the Hon'ble Madhya Pradesh High Court observed that the prosecution's case, at this prima facie stage, was insufficient to justify custodial deprivation.
According to Singh, the high court held that mere crediting of funds into his bank account was insufficient to infer mens rea or knowing participation in the fraud, especially given Jayaramaiah's specific explanation that his details were fraudulently obtained.
Furthermore, the State failed to impute any specific overt act to Jayaramaiah, such as personally inducing the complainant, preparing or using forged documents, or representing himself as an agent of any insurance company.
Singh says: "Given his advanced age, unblemished service record, permanent residency and lack of antecedents, the Madhya Pradesh High Court concluded that the investigation could substantially proceed through documentary and electronic evidence, thereby rendering his custodial detention wholly dispensable."
According to Singh, the transit bail application was a procedural measure to secure interim protection while Jayaramaiah, a resident of Karnataka, travelled to the competent court in Madhya Pradesh. Since the FIR was registered at Tikamgarh and Jayaramaiah apprehended arrest, he approached the Hon'ble Karnataka High Court for pre-arrest protection to facilitate his safe movement.
Singh says: "This temporary relief ensured that he would not be arrested during his inter-state travel to pursue legal remedies. It is an ancillary safeguard, preserving the status quo until the anticipatory bail application is heard by the competent court, thereby upholding Jayaramaiah's right to approach the appropriate forum without exposure to custodial detention."
The high court said that as per the available evidence and materials on record the court is of the opinion that mere fact that an amount was credited into the bank account of Jayaramaiah, by itself, would not be sufficient to conclude that the applicant was knowingly involved in the commission of the alleged offences.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court noted that Jayaramaiah has furnished a specific explanation that his bank and debit-card details had been obtained by an unknown person on the pretext of assisting him in obtaining an insurance amount and the subsequent transactions were carried out without his knowledge.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court observed that Jayaramaiah, a retired IFS Officer and Ex-serviceman whose age is about 78 years, is a permanent resident of Karnataka and has no criminal antecedents.
The high court observed: “There is nothing brought on record at this stage to demonstrate that the applicant (Jayaramaiah) is likely to abscond, flee from justice, influence witnesses or tamper with the evidence.”
Thus, the Madhya Pradesh High Court said that the allegation regarding the use of the applicant's bank account and the subsequent withdrawal of the amounts can substantially be investigated through banking records, electronic transaction details and other documentary material.
Moreover, the prosecution has not pointed out any specific overt act attributed to Jayaramaiah showing that he personally induced the complainant, prepared or used forged documents, or represented himself as an agent of any insurance company.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court said that considering the advanced age of Jayaramaiah, absence of criminal antecedents, and the fact that the material allegations primarily relate to banking and electronic transactions which can be investigated through documentary and electronic evidence, the Court is of the view that custodial detention of the applicant is not shown to be indispensable at this stage.
The high court clarified that its observations made are confined to the consideration of the present application for anticipatory bail and shall not be construed as an expression of opinion on the merits of the prosecution case.
Thus, the anticipatory bail application filed by Jayaramaiah is allowed on satisfaction of certain conditions imposed by the court. The main fraud and forgery case investigation still goes on and Jayaramaiah is yet to be cleared of that case.
