01Facts
The Petitioner, a former MLC and Chancellor of Glocal University, sought the quashing of FIR Case Crime No. 421/2024 lodged under Sections 406, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B, and 506 of the IPC.
¶ 1The Complainant alleged he was defrauded of INR 6,33,00,000/- transferred to M/s Enchant Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. for a real estate development project that never commenced and saw its allotment cancelled.
¶ 2.2–2.4Parallelly, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) had already investigated the Petitioner’s corporate network under Supreme Court directions, resulting in a pending complaint (No. 720/2017) involving the same shell companies.
¶ 2.5–2.7The Petitioner contended the FIR was an impermissible second investigation into facts already covered by the SFIO.
¶ 302Issues
i.1. Whether the Impugned FIR should be quashed on the ground that it constitutes a "second investigation" into facts already examined by the SFIO.
¶ 18ii.2. Whether the High Court, in exercise of its inherent powers, can transfer a specific investigation to a specialized agency to prevent multiplicity of proceedings.
¶ 54, 5903Law Applied
The Court applied Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), which preserves the High Court's inherent power to prevent abuse of process and secure the ends of justice.
¶ 19–21The Court relied on State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal regarding the parameters for quashing an FIR.
¶ 23The Court relied on SFIO v. Rahul Modi, which establishes that once an investigation is assigned to the SFIO under Section 212 of the Companies Act, 2013, other agencies are denuded of jurisdiction over those corporate offences.
¶ 42The Court also noted Section 193(9) of the BNSS regarding the power to conduct "further investigation" even after a report is filed.
¶ 55Provisions in the judgment · 16 · Linked ones open on LawLens
Indian Penal Code, 1860 Section 406Section 420Section 467Section 468Section 471Section 506
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 Section 82Section 155Section 156Section 173Section 482
Companies Act, 2013 Section 212Section 213Section 447
Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 Section 193Section 528
04Reasoning
The Court found a "substantial congruence" between the SFIO complaint and the FIR, noting that the companies and many IPC sections (406, 420, 120-B) overlapped.
¶ 35–39However, it observed a critical distinction: the specific transaction involving the Complainant’s INR 6.33 crore was not explicitly covered in the existing SFIO complaint.
¶ 47Applying the Bhajan Lal standards, the Court determined that because the FIR disclosed a cognizable offence and a specific loss to a private individual, outright quashing would leave the victim remediless.
¶ 48, 52Conversely, allowing the State STF to continue a parallel inquiry into the same corporate "architecture" already seized by a specialized agency (SFIO) would lead to fragmentation and potentially conflicting findings.
¶ 56, 5805Holding
The Court rejected the prayer for quashing the FIR to preserve the Complainant’s right to a remedy.
¶ 61(i)To prevent abuse of process and ensure procedural integrity, it ordered the transfer of the investigation from the STF to the SFIO.
¶ 61(i)The SFIO was directed to treat the Complainant’s grievance as a "further investigation" under Section 193(9) of the BNSS and, if warranted, file a supplementary complaint before the Special Court.
¶ 61(iii)The Court clarified that since the SFIO was already authorized to investigate the Petitioner by the Supreme Court, no fresh sanction from the Central Government was required.
¶ 62Original Court PDF
Haji Iqbal Alias BalavsState Of U.P. And 2 Others
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