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2024 Supreme(Online)(Ker) 72066
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
DILEEP SHIKHAMONI – Appellant
Versus
STATE OF KERALA – Respondent
Bail Appl. Nos.10271/2023, 10275/2023, 10276/2023, 10277/2023, 10293/2023, 10297/2023, 10304/2023, 10305/2023, 10309/2023, 10311/2023, 10312/2023
The court held that anticipatory bail should not be granted when there is a strong prima facie case of fraud, as custodial interrogation is essential for effective investigation.
Headnote:(A) Indian Penal Code - Sections 406 and 420 - Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act, 2019 - Sections 3 r/w 21(2), (3), 5 r/w 23, 25(1) - Anticipatory bail applications filed by accused in multiple crimes related to illegal collection of deposits without a license and committing breach of trust and cheating - Allegations include collection of substantial amounts from victims under false pretenses and failure to return principal or interest - Court emphasized the necessity of custodial interrogation for effective investigation into the misappropriation of funds. (Paras 1-6)
Facts of the case:
The accused, comprising the Managing Director and Directors of M/S. S.N. Chitty Fund and Bankers, are alleged to have collected large sums of money from victims by falsely claiming to possess a license from the Reserve Bank to operate a financial business, ultimately failing to return the amounts collected.
Findings of Court:
The court found that the accused operated without proper licensing, misrepresented their business to the public, and committed fraud, necessitating custodial interrogation to uncover the details of the misappropriation.
Issues: The main issues revolved around the legality of the accused's financial operations, the intent behind the collection of funds, and the necessity of custodial interrogation for investigation.
Ratio Decidendi: The court ruled that granting anticipatory bail would impede the investigation, as the accused's actions indicated a systematic approach to defraud victims, necessitating their presence for questioning.
Result: All anticipatory bail petitions are dismissed, directing the petitioners to surrender to the investigating officer.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. allegations of financial misconduct (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5) |
| 2. dismissal of bail petitions (Para 6) |
COMMON ORDER
[Bail Appl. Nos.10271/2023, 10275/2023, 10276/2023, 10277/2023, 10293/2023, 10297/2023, 10304/2023, 10305/2023, 10309/2023, 10311/2023 & 10312/2023]
Dated this the 4th day of June, 2024
1. B.A. Nos.10309/2023 & 10293/2023
i) B.A. No.10309/2023 is an application for anticipatory bail filed by the 1st accused in Crime No.336/2023 of Thiruvalla Police Station. B.A. No.10293/2023 is also filed seeking anticipatory bail and the petitioners are accused Nos.3 to 5 in the same crime.
ii) The prosecution allegation in this crime is that the 1st accused being the Managing Director and the other accused who are the Directors of M/S. S.N. Chitty Fund and Bankers offered 18% interest (Rs.1,500/- per month for Rs.1 lakh) and on the said offer jointly collected Rs.7 lakhs (Rs.4 lakh from the husband and Rs.3 lakh from the wife) in between 26.05.2019 to 17.06.2019 on assuring them that M/S. S.N. Chitty Fund and Bankers obtained licence from Reserve Bank to run finance business after suppressing the fact that they had no licence to do financial business. Accordingly, they illegally collected the above said amount and they failed to give interest along with the principal amount as agreed and thereby committed breach of trust as well as cheating punishable under Sections 406 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code (' IPC ' for short hereinafter) read with 34 . They also committed offences punishable under Sections Section 3 r/w 21(2), (3) , 5 r/w 23 , 25(1) of the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act, 2019 (hereinafter referred to as 'BUDS Act).
2. B.A. Nos.10277/2023 & 10305/2023
i) B.A. No.10277/2023 is an application for anticipatory bail filed by the 1st accused in Crime No.234/2023 of Thiruvalla Police Station. B.A. No.10305/2023 is also filed seeking anticipatory bail and the petitioners are accused Nos.3 to 5 in the same crime.
ii) The prosecution allegation in this crime is that the 1st accused, being the Managing Director and the other accused who are the Directors of M/s. S.N. Chitty Fund and Bankers jointly collected Rs.13,20,000/- from the defacto complainant offering 12% interest on assuring them that M/S. S.N. Chitty Fund and Bankers obtained licence from Reserve Bank to run finance business after suppressing the fact that they had no licence to do financial business. Accordingly, they illegally collected the above said amount and they failed to give interest along with the principal amount as agreed and thereby committed breach of trust as well as cheating punishable under Sections 406 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code (' IPC ' for short hereinafter) read with 34 . They also committed offences punishable under Sections Section 3 r/w 21(2),(3) , 5 r/w 23 , 25(1) of the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act, 2019 (hereinafter referred to as 'BUDS Act).
3. B.A. Nos.10304/2023 & 10271/2023
i) B.A. No.10304/2023 is an application for anticipatory bail filed by the 1st accused in Crime No.336/2023 of Thiruvalla Police Station. B.A. No.10271/2023 is also filed seeking anticipatory bail and the petitioners are accused Nos.3 to 5 in the same crime.
ii) The prosecution allegation in this crime is that the 1st accused, being the Managing Director and the other accused who are the Directors of M/s. S.N. Chitty Fund and Bankers jointly collected Rs.15,00,000/- from the defacto complainant offering 12% interest from 01.10.2017 to 23.10.2019 on assuring them that M/S. S.N. Chitty Fund and Bankers obtained licence from Reserve Bank to run finance business after suppressing the fact that they had no licence to do financial business. Accordingly, they illegally collected the above said amount and they failed to give interest along with the principal amount as agreed and thereby committed breach of trust as well as cheating punishable under Sections 406 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code (' IPC ' for short hereinafter) read
