Calcutta High Court refuses to quash cheating case against online legal services website

The Calcutta High Court recently dismissed a plea to quash criminal proceedings involving allegations of cheating by those running a legal services website named 'Online Legal India' [Rajesh Kewat, MD, Fast Info Legal Services Private Limited v. State of West Bengal & Another].

Justice Ajay Kumar Gupta observed that the company operating the Online Legal India website appeared to have deceived multiple persons in a manner.

“It appears that under the banner of one website, namely, https://www.onlinelegalindia.com, the said company has cheated many persons in the same manner as the complainant. The complainant tried to contact the company further, but they did not agree to talk with her and further used slang language. She has been duped by the company,” the single judge Bench observed.

The Court refused to quash the case after noting that a prima facie case of cheating had been made out against those running this website.

“From the perusal of the statements of the de facto complainant and other witnesses recorded by the Investigation Officer, it reveals that the company and its Director have duped numerous common people. In view of the aforesaid facts that the investigation is under progress and yet to be completed, this Court is of the view that at this initial stage of investigation, it would not be appropriate and proper to quash the proceedings without justified reasons,” the November 13 order said.

The case arose from a complaint filed by a woman, Manju Sharma, who alleged that she had been duped by those running the Online Legal India website after she approached them via Google for assistance in reporting a credit card scam.

In January 2023, she had received a call from someone posing as a bank employee, offering her a gift voucher if she activated her Kotak Mahindra credit card. Following the instructions, an unauthorized debit of ₹12,000 was made from her account.

Seeking help, she found Online Legal India and filled out a form for assistance. A representative from the company assured her they could help recover the lost amount.

They advised her not to involve the police and promised to file a first information report (FIR) through their “cyber cell” for a fee of ₹1,179.

Trusting the representative, she paid the amount, but no service was provided, and the FIR was never lodged.

She, therefore, filed a complaint against the individual running the website, Rajesh Kewat, leading to charges under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

Kewat then filed a plea before the High Court to quash the criminal case. He argued that the case against him was false and only filed out of a grudge to harass him.

The State opposed Kewat's petition and referred to statements from multiple individuals who reported similar complaints against the company.

The State argued that petitioner's organization systematically exploited vulnerable customers who sought legal redress. It emphasized that the company often failed to follow through on its promises after collecting fees, which warranted a thorough investigation to uncover the full extent of the alleged fraud.

The Court ultimately decided not to quash the case, opining that the allegations made provided a plausible basis for the investigation to proceed.

Accordingly, the petition was dismissed, along with all related applications. The Court directed the trial court to proceed with the case.

Advocates Hindol Nandi, Satarupa Sarkar and Swarnava Mukherjee appeared for the petitioner, while Advocates Rudradipta Nandy and Sanjana Saha represented the State.

[Read Order]