Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court has refused bail to a Chinese national accused of forging Indian identity documents and illegally staying in India by tampering with his visa, observing that the material on record indicates serious economic and national security implications.
Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal dismissed the bail application of Xue Fei @ Koei on November 19, 2025, in Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 3577 of 2023, arising out of Case Crime No. 408 of 2022 registered at Police Station Beta-2, Gautam Buddha Nagar.
The applicant was arrested following disclosures made by two Chinese nationals who were intercepted while entering India through Nepal. Acting on their information, the police raided a flat in Noida where the applicant was residing and recovered a forged Indian passport and Aadhaar card issued in the name of “Laakpa Sherpa.” The investigation further revealed that the applicant had tampered with his visa and unlawfully extended its validity from 2020 to 2022 despite its original expiry in 2020.
The applicant’s counsel argued that he was neither a director nor a promoter of the companies under investigation. It was further submitted that no charge sheet had been filed against him for money laundering or siphoning of funds, and that no concrete evidence established his involvement in the alleged export of chips to China. The defence also highlighted that the applicant had been in custody since June 2022 and that only nine out of 76 witnesses had been examined, making an early conclusion of the trial unlikely.
Reliance was placed on Supreme Court precedents to contend that a charge sheet cannot be based solely on confessional statements, and that safeguards such as impounding the applicant’s passport or obtaining assurances from the embassy could adequately ensure that he would not abscond if released on bail.
Opposing the application, the State submitted that the applicant was the kingpin of an illegal operation involving forged Indian identification documents, unlawful stay, and export of processors to China. The prosecution asserted that he had manipulated visa records and created fake Aadhaar and passport documents to facilitate his activities.
The Court was also informed that the applicant’s co-accused had either been denied bail by the High Court or had failed in their challenges before the Supreme Court. Another co-accused had already fled the country and remained untraceable.
After considering the submissions, the High Court noted that the recovery of the forged passport and Aadhaar card from the applicant’s possession, coupled with the admitted tampering of visa records, established a prima facie case involving serious criminal offences. The Court further observed that witness statements indicated that the applicant personally visited courier offices to export processors and chips to China.
Significantly, the Court invoked Section 57(11) of the Indian Evidence Act to take judicial notice of the strained and hostile diplomatic relations between India and China.
The Court also noted that India does not have an extradition treaty with China; therefore, if the applicant were released on bail, there existed a serious risk of him fleeing the country, making his return for trial practically impossible. The absence of a valid visa and his continued illegal stay further weighed heavily against the grant of bail.
Holding that the applicant posed a risk to India’s economic interests and that the allegations pertained to economic and national security offences, the High Court denied bail.
However, considering that the applicant has been in custody for more than three years, the Court directed the trial court to conduct the trial expeditiously.
Case Title: Xue Fei @ Koei v. State of Uttar Pradesh
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