₹3.9 crore fraud case: Supreme Court Grants Bail to Man Accused of Impersonating Amit Shah’s Nephew

The Bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi noted that the accused has already spent more than four years in custody, while the maximum sentence prescribed for the offences is seven years.

The Court recorded that charges were framed in 2022, yet the prosecution has examined only the first witness out of 34 so far. The prolonged incarceration and slow pace of trial weighed heavily with the bench.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Vikramjit Banerjee, appearing for the Delhi government, strongly opposed the bail plea. He argued that the prosecution’s application to add forgery charges remains pending and that several other cases involving the accused are also under investigation. The ASG submitted that the case was part of a larger racket where names of high constitutional authorities were allegedly misused to defraud individuals.

The Bench, however, was unmoved. Justice Maheshwari remarked, “We should go as per law, we will not go here and there".

When the prosecution urged the Court to delay release until the complainant’s cross-examination was completed, the Bench responded firmly: “No, nothing. Had this case come earlier, we would have granted bail earlier also.”

The Court accordingly ordered the petitioner’s release on bail, directing that the statutory parameters must prevail over speculative concerns or the pace of trial.

Most recently, on September 1, the Delhi High Court had dismissed Nayyar's bail plea. The High Court had ruled that the matter was not fit for grant of bail given the “serious nature and breadth of allegations” and the pending addition of more severe charges. It had underlined that the maximum punishment for some of the offences invoked was life imprisonment. The High Court also took note of Nayyar’s criminal antecedents, which further persuaded the bench against granting him relief.

According to the prosecution, Nayyar claimed in 2021 that he had close ties with the political establishment by virtue of being Amit Shah’s nephew. He allegedly lured a businessman into believing that he could secure a government contract worth ₹90 crore for supplying leather for the renovation of the President’s Estate at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The inducement was strengthened by the accused showing a demand draft of ₹90 crore. On this assurance, the businessman advanced payments of ₹3.9 crore through cash and RTGS transfers, believing they were processing charges linked to the tender.

The case papers reveal that Nayyar later escalated the promise, claiming that the tender value had risen to ₹127 crore, and sought further sums. The businessman, sensing fraud, approached the police. The Crime Branch arrested Nayyar in December 2021, and he has been in judicial custody since.

The charges against him are grave. The police invoked provisions of the Indian Penal Code including Section 420 for cheating, Section 120B for criminal conspiracy, and further sought to add Sections 467 and 471 dealing with forgery and use of forged documents, both of which are punishable with life imprisonment. The prosecution’s case is that the accused built an elaborate facade of power and access, projecting himself as the Home Minister’s close kin, and used this deception to induce a businessman into parting with large sums of money. The High Court emphasized that the seriousness of allegations and the potential impact on society form part of the considerations under Section 437 and Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Case Title: Ajay Kumar Nayyar v. State of NCT of Delhi

Hearing Date: December 1, 2025

Bench: Justices JK Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi