Journalism of Courage
‘You are destroying everything’: Karnataka High Court slams cyber centre owner over fake Aadhaar cards for Bangladeshis
The police had allegedly seized fake Aadhaar cards during a raid at a cyber centre in Heelalige village on November 22, 2024.
File photo of the Karnataka High Court.
The Karnataka High Court Monday dismissed a petition filed by a cyber centre owner seeking to quash a case registered against him for allegedly creating fake Aadhaar cards for Bangladeshi nationals in Bengaluru.
Dismissing the petition filed by one Arnab Mandal, Justice M Nagaprasanna said, “You are the one who is destroying everything by giving fake Aadhaar cards to persons who come from other countries.”
Seeking to quash the case registered under Sections 336(2), 336(3), and 340(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with provisions under the Foreigners Act and Indian Passports Act, the advocate for the petitioner had argued that no grounds of arrest were supplied to the accused at the time of his arrest on November 22, 2024. It was also argued that, as the petitioner is an Indian citizen, the police could not have invoked the provisions under the Foreigners Act.
Thereafter, the bench observed, “You are acting against the interest of the nation, and you want grounds of arrest, and you want everything. How many people are you going to let in the country? Everybody has an Aadhaar card today. Why? Because of people like you. Have some concern for the nation.”
Following this, the counsel mentioned that the petitioner had almost completed half of the sentence mandated under Section 336 of the BNS.
Justice Nagaprasanna then said, “No question of interference in this case; if you want, you can file a bail application before the trial court; don’t come before this court for quashment.”
Then the bench orally observed, “Whoever comes to your doorsteps has an Aadhaar card, and they are not even Indians, where are we heading. Aadhaar cards create every other right in the nation that they claim later. Nation has to come first, don’t act against the interest of the nation.”
Background
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The police had raided a cyber center named WOW TECHNOLOGY UK in Heelalige village on the outskirts of Bengaluru on November 22, 2024. During the raid, it was found that Arnab Mandal (Accused 1) was creating fake PAN and Aadhaar cards for Bangladeshi nationals.
During the raid, the police seized computers, a laptop, a printer, 55 Aadhaar cards, 40 bank passbooks, mobile phones, and 18 rental agreements. The police have filed a chargesheet in the case.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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