The Supreme Court has stayed the order of the Punjab and Haryana high court restraining Gurgaon police from conducting investigation in a financial fraud in which the accused had raised the issue of territorial jurisdiction against the Haryana police action of registering a FIR in a matter related to Delhi.
The apex court has also stayed all further proceedings pending before the HC in this case.
“Until further orders from this court, there shall be stay of the operation of the common impugned interim order dated August 13, 2021, passed by the high court except to the extent of release of the accused and there shall be stay of all further proceedings in CRM-M-32887 of 2021 pending before the high court,” the SC has ordered.
Division bench, comprising Justice S Abdul Nazeer and Justice A S Bopana of the SC, has passed these orders while hearing the special leave petition (SLP) filed by Haryana against three interim orders of the high court. In its orders dated August 13, HC had directed the state not to take any coercive steps against the accused and stayed further investigation by the police.
A senior counsel privy to the case informed that the apex court expressed serious concern over the manner in which all these orders were in teeth of the judgment passed by the Supreme Court in a case titled Neeharika Infrastructure Private Limited versus state of Maharashtra
Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, who was appearing for Haryana, submitted: “Here, in its jurisdiction under section 482 of the CrPC, the high court casts an aspersion saying that how did you register an offence, let the police commissioner file his personal affidavit, how did you register an offence, let the home secretary file his personal affidavit.”
He argued that the person who is arrested by the police, after having been satisfied about the prima facie case, and after the sessions judge, being satisfied in refusing the regular bail, the court in a 482 jurisdiction grants interim bail, which in principle, as a proposition is objectionable. Seeking stay on the order, Mehta submitted that the orders passed by the high court were extraordinary and highly unusual. Justice Manoj Bajaj of the HC had passed the August 13 order after hearing a petition filed by one Santosh Mahalingam.
The FIR in this case contains allegations relating to the non-payment of loan to complainant (PM Fincap Ltd) by the borrower Trusts — Maharaji Educational Trust and Santosh Trust. The petitioner and his parents are trustees of the trust.
According to him, the transactions of loan started in 2009, and initially a loan of Rs 15 crore was disbursed by PM Fincap Ltd and against that up to 2014, a sum of Rs 20 crore stood paid by the borrowers, but in March, 2015, another sum of Rs 35 crore was disbursed and against that a sum of Rs 25 crore was returned to the sister concerns of PM Fincap Ltd vide payments made in March 201.
All transactions took place in Delhi, and other litigation between the parties is also pending in Delhi, including the complaint under Section 138 Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 filed by the creditor against the petitioners, as cheques given by petitioners to clear debt were dishonoured.
The main plea of the accused before the HC was that the FIR could not have been registered against him in Gurgaon because the cause of action had arisen in Delhi.
Finance co had filed 3 SLPs:
In its orders, the bench of Justice Manoj Bajaj of the HC had also asked the state to give reasons for registration of FIR. Apart from the state, the complainant in the FIR, P M Fincap Ltd had also filed three SLPs challenging all the orders.
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