JUDGMENT :

N.V. ANJARIA, J.

1. Leave granted.

2. The present appeal is directed against judgment and order dated 14.08.2025 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, Nagpur Bench, Nagpur¹ [Hereinafter “High Court”] dismissing Criminal Revision Application No. 64 of 2024 filed by the appellants with cost of Rs. 5,00,000/-.

2.1 The crux of the controversy is whether the amounts given by the appellants to respondent Nos. 2 to 6 are covered within the ambit of concept of “deposit” as defined under Section 2(c) of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act, 1999.² [Hereinafter “MPID Act”]. The facts in the backdrop may be outlined. Appellant Nos. 1 to 5 are the members of a family whereas appellant Nos. 6 and 7 are two Companies. As stated by the appellants, somewhere in the year 2016, respondent No. 2 approached them through one Mr. Vedant Prakash Agrawal and induced them to invest amounts for setting up a resort at Tadoba, Maharashtra, promising that, in return, the appellants would get interest at the rate of 24% per annum payable quarterly in advance. Guided by the representations and assurances, the appellants invested total amount of