Bhubaneswar: Observing that courts are not expected to act as “a mere post office for the prosecution” and must independently determine whether the material on record discloses the ingredients of the alleged offences before putting an accused on trial, the Orissa High Court has discharged a former director of a real estate and construction firm in a decade-old chit fund scam case.
Justice Sanjeeb Kumar Panigrahi held that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case of cheating or criminal conspiracy against Indrajit De, who was booked under Sections 420, 120-B and 34 of the IPC and Sections 4, 5 and 6 of the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act.
The court noted that De was neither named in the original FIR nor included in the first CBI charge sheet filed in 2016.
The prosecution alleged that Rs 2.50 crore was transferred from Tower Infotech Ltd. to Eden Infra as part of a criminal conspiracy linked to the illegal money circulation scheme. However, the court found no material to show that De had deceived investors, induced public deposits or made any false representation leading to the transfer.
Holding that an offence under Section 420 IPC requires dishonest intention at the inception of a transaction, the court said a subsequent failure to fulfil a commercial obligation cannot by itself amount to cheating.
The court also accepted that while the absence of a written agreement over the Rs 2.50-crore transaction might raise doubts about its commercial prudence, “doubt cannot substitute the statutory ingredients of cheating.”
Finding no evidence of De’s involvement in mobilising deposits or operating the alleged money circulation scheme, the High Court discharged him from all offences, while clarifying that fresh proceedings could be initiated if cogent evidence emerges in future.