‘Fraud’ on US Embassy portal: Punjab and Haryana High Court denies pre-arrest bail to visa agent

Background

• The overseas criminal investigator of the US Embassy initiated and lodged an FIR alleging that visa agents Deepti, Lovedeep Singh Sodhi and other unknown agents were suspected of operating in Punjab and were allegedly submitting fraudulent information on the portal of the US Embassy.
• In January 2025, a co-accused, Lovepreet Singh, applied for a non-immigrant visa and submitted a Bachelor of Arts degree allegedly issued by ‘Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University’, but later admitted that the documents submitted concerning his educational qualification were “forged”.

• It was claimed by the prosecution that it was the petitioner who procured those fake educational certificates for the co-accused.

Findings

• The allegations are specific, mentioning that the petitioner was instrumental in providing fake educational qualification documents to the co-accused, Lovepreet Singh, which were used in the US Embassy.
• The custodial interrogation of the petitioner is necessary for unfolding the entire chain of illegal activities related to the preparation of fake educational documents.
• The petitioner is seeking an extraordinary remedy by claiming the benefit of anticipatory bail.
• The petitioner is not entitled to anticipatory bail since the custodial interrogation is important and required by the police to elucidate the role of the petitioner in the alleged crime.

‘Image of Indians in US Embassy’

• On the contrary, appearing for the state, deputy attorney general IPS Sabharwal argued that this case has very “specific and categorical” allegations concerning the role played by the petitioner in the alleged crime.
• Sabharwal further mentioned that the petitioner’s custodial interrogation is required to prove that he was involved in the preparation of the fake documents of educational qualification of Lovepreet Singh.
• It was further submitted that it is not an ordinary case where the usual parameters meant for anticipatory bail should be applied.
• He further emphasised that the fraud was played with the foreign embassy and is going to affect all the aspirants craving for the US Visa.
• Sabharwal also highlighted that the petitioner’s conduct will definitely impact the image of Indians in the US Embassy.

• He ultimately argued for dismissal of the anticipatory bail plea, pointing to the high magnitude of the act of the petitioner and to trace the elements and sources involved in the alleged crime.

‘No nexus’

Representing the petitioner, advocate Deepak Goyal submitted that his client is innocent, having no nexus with the said crime and has been falsely implicated in the present case based on a statement suffered by the co-accused.

Goyal further argued that there is no evidence to link his client with the mentioned crime, and that the statement of the co-accused implicating the petitioner is neither credible nor reliable.