Conducting unauthorized prize chits constitutes an offence under the Tamilnadu Prize Chits and Money Circulation Scheme (Banning) Act, regardless of claims of conventional chit status.

ORDER

This criminal revision case has been preferred against the judgment dated 03.11.2022 passed in CA.No.102 of 2017 on the file of the Principal Sessions Judge at Tiruppur thereby confirming the conviction and sentence imposed in CC.No.44 of 2015 dated 12.09.2017 on the file of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Tiruppur for the offence punishable under Sections 3 & 4 of Tamilnadu Prize Chits and Money Circulation Scheme (Banning) Act, 1978.

2. The case of the prosecution was that the accused were conducting monthly Deepavali chits by inducing their subscribers with false promise that they would get prize and also dividend and introduced schemes and received a sum of Rs.1,00,000/-, Rs.60,000/- and Rs.50,000/- for three chits and received various sums from so many victims. Those amounts had been utilised by the accused for their personal use and the subscribers were not paid any prize amount and also the accused failed to share the dividend to the subscribers. The chit was conducted by the accused without any proper approval or permission from the authority concerned. Therefore, the respondent registered FIR in crime No.11 of 2013 for the offence punishable under Sections 3 & 4 of Tamilnadu Prize Chits and Money Circulation Scheme (Banning) Act, 1978 and Section 420 of IPC. After completion of investigation, final report was filed and the same was taken cognizance by the trial court in CC.No.44 of 2015.

3. On the side of the prosecution, they had examined PW1 to PW26 and marked Ex.P1 to Ex.P34. On the side of the petitioners, no one was examined and no documents were produced. On perusal of the oral and documentary evidences, the trial court convicted both the petitioners for the offence punishable under Sections 3 & 4 of Tamilnadu Prize Chits and Money Circulation Scheme (Banning) Act, 1978 and sentenced them to undergo two years rigorous imprisonment and ordered to pay fine of Rs.5,000/-(each), in default to undergo six months simple imprisonment. Aggrieved by the same, the petitioners preferred appeal and the same was also dismissed and the conviction and sentence imposed by the trial court was upheld. Aggrieved by the same, the present criminal revision case has been filed.

4. The learned counsel for the petitioners would submit that the conviction is liable to be set aside since no charges are made out under Sections 3 & 4 of Tamilnadu Prize Chits and Money Circulation Scheme (Banning) Act, 1978 against the petitioners. The petitioners conducted conventional chit and it would not amount to any offence under the aforesaid sections. As per Section 3 of Tamilnadu Prize Chits and Money Circulation Scheme (Banning) Act, 1978, no person shall promote or conduct any prize chit or money circulation scheme, or enroll as a member to any such chit or scheme, or participate in it otherwise, or receive or remit any money in pursuance of such chit or scheme. As such, the prize chit does not include conventional chit and therefore, no offence is made out under Section 3 of Tamilnadu Prize Chits and Money Circulation Scheme (Banning) Act, 1978.

5. Heard, the learned counsel for the petitioners, the learned Government Advocate(crl.side) for the respondent and also perused, the materials available on record.

6. On perusal of the records, it is revealed that all the victims were examined as PW1 to PW26 and they all deposed that they had subscribed to chits conducted by the accused on the assurance that they would get prize and also dividend for their chits. Thereafter, they were not paid prize chit and also they did not get any dividend from the chits subscribed by them. They further deposed that the accused collected money and they also made entry in the