Charge sheet in UPI fraud cases: what it contains

By Advocate Panchanand Shaw, Bar Council of West Bengal · Published 4 Nov 2026 · Court process

A charge sheet is the final report the police file before the Magistrate when the investigation is over. In a UPI fraud it sets out the accused, the offences, the witnesses, the bank and payment records, the electronic evidence with its certificate, and the investigating officer's conclusion. It is the document that turns a complaint into a trial.

When the investigation of a UPI fraud is complete, the police do not simply stop. They file a final report before the Magistrate, and in ordinary usage that report is called the charge sheet. It is the document in which the case acquires a shape: the accused are named, the offences are stated, the witnesses and documents are listed, and the investigating officer concludes whether there is a case to answer. For the victim, it is the first time the matter appears as a prosecution rather than a complaint. For anyone named in it, it is the start of a different set of questions entirely.

The report is filed before the court that has jurisdiction over the case, which in Kolkata will ordinarily be the court of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate at Bankshall where the offence is triable by a Magistrate, with sessions trials going to the City Sessions Court. The point to hold on to is that a charge sheet is a police document, not a verdict. It records what the investigating officer believes the evidence shows, and the court still has to decide whether the material justifies proceeding against each person named in it.

What a charge sheet is, and what it is not

It is not a finding of guilt, and it is not necessarily the end of the investigation. It is a report on which the Magistrate, having considered the material, may take cognizance of the offence, may direct further investigation, or may refuse to proceed on the report as it stands. Nor does it decide civil liability. Money that the investigating officer has frozen, or that the bank has reversed, is dealt with through the account and the courts, and a criminal charge sheet does not by itself return a rupee to the victim.

It is also not a comprehensive account of everything the police know. Charge sheets in cyber fraud are usually built quickly on account records, and the person whose account received the money is often the first name available rather than the person who planned the fraud. Read carefully, a charge sheet tells you in its own language how far the investigation actually got.

The parts that are always there

Part of the report	What it contains	Why it matters
Case particulars	The police station, the FIR number, the date of registration and the sections originally invoked	It ties the report to the original information and to any Zero FIR that preceded it
Particulars of the accused	Names, descriptions and, where arrested, the custody history	It identifies who is actually being sent for trial, which is sometimes not who the victim expected
The offences charged	The conclusion of the investigator, stating the offences made out - in a UPI fraud usually cheating under the BNS 2023, with the IT Act 2000 sections on identity theft and impersonation	The conclusion sets the punishment and the forum, and the court may alter it after hearing the parties
List of witnesses	Each witness with a note of what the witness proves - the complainant, the bank officer, the payment system officer, the forensic examiner	A long list of witnesses who prove nothing relevant is a warning sign, not a strength
List of documents	The bank records, transaction records, notices, statements and expert reports relied upon	This is where the electronic evidence of the case actually lives
Seizure list	Devices, articles and documents seized, with their identification	It fixes the chain of custody for anything examined later
Expert reports	Forensic examination of a device, analysis of records, or a certificate accompanying an electronic record	Electronic proof is admitted on these, and their absence is a defect the defence will point out

The electronic evidence bundle

Everything in a UPI fraud is a record of a computer. The money moved because a payment system recorded an instruction, the inducement came through a messaging or telephony application, and the identification of the accused comes from account-opening documents and connection records. Under section 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, information in an electronic record is admissible without further proof of the original only if the conditions in that section are met, and section 63(4) requires a certificate submitted with the record at each instance it is submitted for admission - identifying the record, describing how it was produced, giving particulars of the device, and dealing with those conditions, signed by the person in charge of the device or the relevant activity and by an expert. The Schedule to the Act supplies the format, including fields for device details, identifiers and hash values, with a hash report to accompany the certificate.

In a properly built UPI fraud charge sheet, therefore, the bank statement and the payment records should come from the bank's authorised officer, the device examination should come with the examiner's report, and any record that the prosecution wants to rely on in electronic form should be accompanied by the certificate. Where the certificate is missing, the record may still be proved in other ways, but the case becomes an argument about admissibility instead of a case about money. Where records were obtained from a payment platform or an intermediary, the production is usually documented in the report so that the court can see how the material reached the investigating officer.

How long the investigation can run

Criminal investigation of fraud is time-bound where the accused is in custody. An arrested person must be produced before a Magistrate without unnecessary delay and within twenty-four hours, and remand is then governed by section 187 of the BNSS 2023, which also limits how long the police may hold an accused before the investigation is taken to be complete. Where the investigation is not completed within the period the statute allows, the accused acquires a right to be released on bail, and that right does not depend on the strength of the case against him. In fraud cases investigated across several states, this deadline is often the reason a charge sheet is filed with less material than the file deserved.

Two other provisions shape how these cases are run. Where the offence alleged is punishable with imprisonment of less than seven years, the investigating officer is expected to issue a notice of appearance under section 35(3) of the BNSS 2023 rather than arrest the person, which is why many account holders in fraud cases are never taken into custody at all. And section 528 of the BNSS 2023 permits proceedings, including the examination of accused persons, to be conducted through audio-video electronic means, which is how depositions by bank officials in another city are often taken.

The three ways an investigation ends

A charge sheet, where the investigating officer finds sufficient material against one or more persons and sends them for trial.
A closure report, where the officer concludes that no offence is made out or that the accused cannot be traced, and asks the Magistrate to close the case. The Magistrate may accept it, may direct further investigation, or may take cognizance on the material despite the report.
A further or supplementary report, filed later when new material is found, which is common in fraud traced across several accounts and states.

A victim who receives a closure report has a remedy that many never use: a written protest before the Magistrate, pointing out the material that was not investigated, and an application under section 175(3) of the BNSS 2023 for a direction that the case be investigated. Where the police have traced accounts but not the person behind them, this is often more effective than simply filing another complaint at a police station.

What the charge sheet means for the accused

Many of the people named in UPI fraud charge sheets are account holders whose accounts were used to receive money, and not the persons who planned the fraud. That is a defence worth making properly, because the offences of cheating under section 318(4) of the BNS 2023 and of identity theft and impersonation under the IT Act 2000 turn on intention and knowledge. An account holder who genuinely did not know that his account was being used has an argument; an account holder who allowed his account to be used for a consideration has a much harder one, and may also face proceedings under the same cheating provisions on the footing that he was part of the arrangement.

Once a charge sheet is filed, the case moves to the stage of framing of charge and trial. Bail at that stage is governed by section 480 of the BNSS 2023, and a person who apprehends arrest before the report is filed can apply for anticipatory bail under section 482. Neither remedy is a comment on guilt, and neither is automatic. The relevant question at the bail stage is what the material in the charge sheet actually attributes to the particular person, which is why the list of witnesses and documents should be read before any application is drafted rather than after. That side of the case is dealt with at bail, and the general defence work at criminal defence.

What the victim should check once the report is filed

Whether the electronic records relied on are accompanied by the certificate under section 63(4) of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, and whether the hash and device details are stated.
Whether the charge is against the mind behind the fraud or only against the first account holder, and whether the accounts in the chain are listed at all.
Whether your own statements and documents have been recorded, and whether the amount you complained of appears correctly in the report.
Whether anything frozen or recovered is described, and what has happened to it since.
Whether a copy of the report has been furnished to you. The victim is not automatically entitled to a free copy of the charge sheet, so a written request or an application through the court is usually necessary.

Common mistakes around a charge sheet

Treating the filing of a charge sheet as the recovery of the money. The two are separate consequences and both need to be pursued.
Assuming that a closure report ends the matter, and doing nothing about the material the police never examined.
Reading one name in the report as the identification of the fraudster, when the account may have been used by somebody else.
For a person named in the report: waiting for the charge to be framed before taking any advice on the material, by which time the first bail opportunity has passed.

When to involve a lawyer

A victim can follow a charge sheet without a lawyer and often does. Advice becomes worth taking when the report is being read for a decision - whether to protest a closure, whether the accused named is the person who caused the loss, whether money traced to an account can be recovered through the court, or whether the bank's refusal to reverse should now be taken further. For anyone named as an accused, the material has to be examined before the charge is framed, because the lists of witnesses and documents are the case, and an answer prepared against them is worth more than an answer prepared after the trial begins. A cyber crime lawyer in Kolkata reads charge sheets and the evidence behind them in this practice; the contact page sets out what to bring.

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Frequently asked questions

What is a charge sheet in a UPI fraud case?

It is the final report the police file before the Magistrate on completing the investigation. It names the accused, states the offences made out, and lists the witnesses, documents, seized articles and expert reports relied upon. It is a police conclusion about the evidence, not a finding of guilt, and the court decides what follows from it.

What offences are usually mentioned in a UPI fraud charge sheet?

Most often cheating under section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which covers cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property, and is punishable with imprisonment up to seven years. It is commonly read with sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2000, which punish identity theft and cheating by personation using a computer resource.

Do I get a copy of the charge sheet as the complainant in a UPI fraud case?

Not automatically. A free copy of the first information report must be given to the informant, but the charge sheet is furnished to the accused as of right at that stage of the proceedings, and the victim usually has to request it or seek it through the court. Ask the investigating officer in writing, and if that fails apply before the Magistrate.

Why is the bank officer or the payment platform officer a witness in the charge sheet?

Because the case is proved through records, and the records have to be spoken to by the person authorised to produce them. The bank officer proves the account, the debit, the transaction reference and the alerts. The payment system officer proves the transaction log and the movement of funds. Without them, the electronic records are documents without authorship.

What happens if the police file a closure report instead of a charge sheet in my UPI fraud case?

The Magistrate may accept the closure, may direct further investigation, or may take cognizance on the material despite the report. As a victim you can file a written protest pointing out what was not investigated, and apply under section 175(3) of the BNSS 2023 for a direction that the case be investigated. Both steps should be taken promptly.

How long can the police take to file a charge sheet in a UPI fraud case?

Where the accused is in custody, the investigation is time-bound. An arrested person must be produced before a Magistrate within twenty-four hours, remand is governed by section 187 of the BNSS 2023, and if the investigation is not completed within the period the statute allows, the accused becomes entitled to release on bail regardless of the strength of the case.

Will I be arrested if my account received money in a UPI fraud case?

Not automatically. Where the alleged offence is punishable with imprisonment of less than seven years, section 35(3) of the BNSS 2023 contemplates a notice of appearance instead of arrest. Whether you are named at all depends on what the investigation shows about your knowledge and intention; receiving money is not the same as being part of the fraud.

Does a charge sheet mean the UPI fraud money will be returned to me?

No. A charge sheet starts a prosecution, and the punishment of an offender and the return of your money are separate outcomes. Recovery depends on funds still being traceable or on the bank's liability under the RBI directions, and on civil remedies against the person who holds or received the money. The report may describe what was frozen or recovered.

Information for general guidance only and not legal advice. Provisions cited follow the Information Technology Act 2000, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023.

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