‘Preys on dreams of Indian youth’: Punjab and Haryana High Court denies relief to Karnal man over immigration fraud

Court on immigration rackets

• The fraudulent inducement for illegal migration, followed by subjecting individuals to inhumane and life-threatening conditions abroad, not only reflects criminal intent but also constitutes a serious affront to human dignity and national interest.
• The court cannot overlook the broader public interest involved in cases of immigration fraud, especially when they border on transnational human trafficking.
• Such offences necessitate a strong and principled judicial response to prevent their recurrence.
• Such offences strike at the core of public trust and reflect a disturbing trend prevalent in this region, where unscrupulous individuals posing as travel facilitators exploit the aspirations of innocent citizens seeking opportunities abroad.

• These fraudulent activities not only cause severe financial and emotional distress but also undermine the integrity of lawful immigration systems.
• Therefore, individuals involved in such organized deceit must be dealt with firmly and in accordance with the law, leaving no room for leniency.
• The offence in question does not merely involve financial deceit but strikes at the very fabric of social trust.
• It involves elements of human trafficking and cross-border immigration fraud, which are not only grave in nature but also have far-reaching consequences on public order.
• Cases of this nature, where vulnerable individuals are lured with false promises of lawful migration and are subsequently subjected to exploitation, fall within the ambit of organised human trafficking and merit strict judicial scrutiny and deterrence.

Granting anticipatory bail would impediment probe

• It is not appropriate to grant anticipatory bail to the petitioner, as it would necessarily cause impediment in effective investigation.
• The court has to equilibrate between safeguarding individual rights and protecting societal interests.
• The court ought to reckon with the magnitude and nature of the offence; the role attributed to the accused; the need for fair and free investigation as also the deeper and wide impact of such alleged iniquities on the society.
• It is imperative that every person in the society can expect an atmosphere free from foreboding and fear of any transgression.
• At this stage, there is no material on record to hold that prima facie case is not made out against the petitioner.

• The material which has come on record and preliminary investigation, appear to have established a reasonable basis for the accusations.
• The investigating agency has sought the custodial interrogation of the petitioner for effective recovery, verification of facts, and to establish the broader conspiracy, if any, behind the occurrence.
• No plausible cause has been shown, at this stage, from which it can be deciphered that the petitioner has been falsely implicated in the present FIR.
• It goes without saying that in the instant case, the complainant has categorically stated that the petitioner had defrauded the complainant of a substantial amount under the false pretext of facilitating his legal migration to abroad, which caused severe financial and emotional distress.

Petition dismissed

• Concluding that no compelling ground existed to extend discretionary relief, the high court dismissed the petition.
• However, the court clarified that nothing stated in the order should be construed as an expression on the merits of the case at trial.

Rs 12 lakh promise

• The case stems from an FIR registered on July 1, 2025, registered at Assandh police station in Karnal district under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and the Immigration Act, 1983.
• According to the complaint lodged by Amit Kumar, Dhaliwal allegedly assured him that he could secure a Canadian work visa in exchange for Rs 12,00,000.
• According to the prosecution, the payments were made in three installments in November 2022, Rs 4,58,000 on November 7, Rs 2,60,000 on November 18 and Rs 4,66,000 on November 20.
• Kumar claimed he was told his interview would be scheduled for January 2023.
• An interview did take place in February 2023, after which he was allegedly informed via a phone call on March 15, 2023, that he had cleared it and would soon be called for a medical examination.

• In July 2023, he received a message asking him to undergo medical tests, with the assurance that his visa had been approved.
• The petitioner allegedly visited his residence and procured his signatures on what was represented as a medical document later discovered to be fabricated.
• Months passed with repeated assurances.
• Eventually, in August 2023, Dhaliwal allegedly told him that due to stricter immigration policies in Canada, the visa had been rejected and the process could not be completed.
• When pressed for a refund, a cheque of Rs 12 lakh was issued, only to be dishonoured upon presentation.

Defence: ‘Purely civil dispute’

• Advocate Yashveer Kharb, appearing for Singh, sought protection from arrest under and argued that the allegations were fabricated and that the matter was essentially civil in nature.
• The counsel contended that Dhaliwal had merely introduced the complainant to “Yellow Leaf Immigration Consultant,” which had issued receipts for payments.
• It was further argued that the FIR, lodged in July 2025, came nearly two years after the alleged transactions of 2022–23, reflecting an unexplained delay.
• The counsel maintained that there was no dishonest intention and that custodial interrogation was unnecessary as nothing remained to be recovered.

State’s opposition

• Deputy advocate general, Mahima Yashpal Singla, appearing for the prosecution, opposed the plea, stressing the seriousness of the allegations and the need for custodial interrogation to uncover a possible larger conspiracy and recover the alleged defrauded amount.
• The DAG said that the offence committed by the petitioner is serious in nature.
• She submitted that the petitioner has been specifically named in the FIR in question to the effect that the complainant had paid a substantial amount in order to send him to Canada on work visa, but the petitioner, instead, cheated the complainant.

• Neither the complainant was sent abroad nor was the amount in question returned to him, she said.
• The DAG informed the court that the offence committed by the petitioner caused substantial financial and emotional distress to the victim.
• Considering the seriousness of the allegations, custodial interrogation of the petitioner may be necessary to unearth the broader conspiracy, identify co-accused and recover the ill-gotten money, she submitted.
• She added that given the severity of the offence, there exists a substantial likelihood that the petitioner may abscond or tamper with the evidence, if she is enlarged on bail.