HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH ****

Date of Decision: 15.01.2025 ****

Neeraj Kumar ... Petitioner VS.

State of Punjab & Anr. ... Respondents ****

CORAM: HON’BLE MR.JUSTICE SANDEEP MOUDGIL ****

Present: Mr. Karanjeet Singh Brar, Advocate for the petitioner Mr. Jaspal Singh Guru, AAG Punjab ****

Sandeep Moudgil, J. (Oral)

(1). This petition under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) has been filed by the petitioner seeking a direction to the respondents to club all the FIRs for further proceedings (investigation/trial) pending against him in various districts of the State of Punjab. Further prayer is to constitute a Special Investigation Team to conduct thorough and impartial investigation into the FIRs lodged against the petitioner.

(2). Briefly stated that the petitioner established a company namely, Nature Heights Infra Ltd. in 2011 as a subsidiary of the Natureway Group and to facilitate sale and purchase of various real estate projects, the petitioner opened multiple branches in various cities in Punjab which was being managed independently for providing potential investors with projects-related information and also engage numerous investors in sale and purchase of plots, shops and showrooms etc. at competitive rates. Allegedly, due to political vendetta and economic setbacks faced by the petitioner in 2014, there was delay in construction and as such, he could not complete the registration process of the properties as promised to the customers. As a result of which, the petitioner was compelled to shut down its offices in various cities leading to widespread concern among his investors and the growing belief among the customers that the petitioner had indulged in fraudulent practices leading to registration of as many as 106 FIRs across various districts of Punjab as tabulated in para 8 of the petition. Thus, the petitioner has prayed for a direction for clubbing of these criminal cases for a thorough and cohesive investigation.

(3). Learned counsel for the petitioner contends that the petitioner is facing prosecution in hundreds of cases in various districts of Punjab which necessitates frequent transfers between different jails, police stations and courts and this procedural shuffling does not contribute meaningfully to the investigation and results in significant delays obstructing his right to free and fair trial as guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

(4). It is urged that the some of the complainants with pending FIRs filed writ petition i.e. CWP-16106-2023, which is still pending, wherein the petitioner gave an affidavit dated 23.06.2023 (Annexure P2) to the investors with an assurance to return the amount of the investors by highlighting that as against the company assets worth Rs.200 crores, his liability stands to the tune of Rs.51.11 crores only, and as such the aggrieved customers/investors are on the safe side as the due amount can be recovered from the assets attached to the tune of Rs.46.26 crores.

(5). Further, it is has been pleaded that a Special Investigation Team be constituted which may be tasked for conducting a thorough and impartial investigation into numerous FIRs registered against the petitioner and that apart, the scattered nature of the FIRs and complaints across various courts and tribunals, have led to significant inefficiencies and prolonged delays in the resolution of the dispute and therefore all the FIRs need to be clubbed into a single proceeding to facilitate cohesive investigation and streamlining of judicial process which will indeed be time saving and cost effective.

(6). Another argument raised is that all the pending FIRs against the petitioner involve allegations of breach of contract which fundamentally pertain to civil matters rather than criminal offence inasmuch as these allegations reflect disputes arising from contractual agreements for which appropriate recourse would be through civil proceedings and the present proceedings ar