The Madras High Court has granted anticipatory bail to G. Sudarshan Lodha, the chief executive officer of Strata Property Management Private Limited, in a cybercrime case involving alleged email impersonation of a SEBI official.

Justice Sunder Mohan issued the order on April 22, allowing Lodha to be released on bail in the event of arrest, subject to a bond of Rs 10,000 with two sureties.

According to the case details, Lodha was accused of creating a fake email ID ([email protected]) to impersonate Richa Goel, a SEBI employee, to obtain confidential financial information from a property development company.

The complainant company – which is warehouse developer Avigna, according to sources – claimed they shared sensitive business information believing the request came from an official source.

Investigation revealed that the IP linked to the fake email was connected to Lodha's phone number.

The bail order copy reads: “The investigation revealed that the E-mail ID through which certain information was sought for from the defacto complainant did not belong to Ms. Richa Goel; that a fake E-mail ID was created on 18.02.2020 and when the IP log details were collected from the concerned service providers, it was revealed that the service provider ACT Fibrenet network, which was used in the fake E-mail Id and the recovery E-mail ID shows the same network; that the subscriber details and the recovery E-mail ID reveal the phone number which belonged to the petitioner and thus, the petitioner has committed the aforesaid offences and prayed for dismissal of the petition.”

However, the court noted that neither the prosecution nor the complainant could specify what sensitive information was actually shared.

The court observed: "Considering the aforesaid facts, this Court is of the view that custodial interrogation of the petitioner is not required for the purpose of investigation."

The bail conditions require Lodha to report to police daily for one week and as required thereafter, not abscond during investigation or trial, and not tamper with evidence or witnesses.

The case stems from ongoing business disputes between Lodha's company Strata and Avigna, with arbitration proceedings already pending between the parties.

The story will be updated as and when Strata shares its response.

In the meantime, The Head and Tale is making its detailed February report on the Strata–Avigna dispute free to read.