JUDGMENT :

Ashish Naithani, J.

1. The present writ petitio n under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has been filed by twenty-seven petitioners, all residents of the State of Uttarakhand, seeking a direction for registration of a case and a fair and impartial investigation against The Loni Urban Multi-State Credit and Thrift Co-operative Society and its office-bearers for allegedly defrauding investors of crores of rupees through unauthorized operations in the State.

2. The record reveals that the said Society was registered under Section 7 of the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002, bearing Registration No. MSCS/CR/639/2012, with its area of operation confined to the States of Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. Despite this statutory restriction, the Society illegally expanded its operations into Uttarakhand and opened more than eighteen “Suvidha Centres” in districts including Dehradun, Haridwar, Pauri Garhwal, Chamoli, Tehri, Rudraprayag, Uttarkashi, Bageshwar and Nainital.

3. Acting through its local managers and agents, the Society invited deposits from the public, promising high returns and commissions on collections. The petitioners, most of whom are unemployed persons, homemakers, or retired individuals, were persuaded to deposit their savings and also induced their acquaintances and relatives to invest further sums, resulting in total investments running into several crores of rupees.

4. Subsequently, the petitioners discovered that the Society had stopped making repayments on maturity and that its offices were abruptly closed. Complaints made by the investors were either ignored or met with assurances that the payments would soon be released. When no payments were made, the petitioners approached the police authorities, but their requests for registration of FIRs were allegedly declined.

5. Thereafter, the petitioners submitted multiple written complaints between March and August 2025 to the Senior Superintendent of Police, Dehradun, the District Magistrate, and other authorities, detailing the fraud and naming the branch managers responsible. When no effective action ensued, an application under Section 175(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 was moved before the Civil Judge (S.D.)-6, Dehradun, seeking a direction for registration of an FIR against the office-bearers of the Society.

6. Parallelly, the Government of Uttarakhand, acting upon reports of large-scale misappropriation, issued communications to the Central Registrar of Co-operative Societies, the Reserve Bank of India, and the Ministry of Cooperation, Government of India. The Central Registrar thereafter initiated proceedings under Section 86 of the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002 and, vide order dated 03.03.2025, directed winding-up of the Society and appointed the Joint Commissioner & Joint Registrar, Meerut Division, as the Liquidator.

7. It is further placed on record that in WPPIL No. 46 of 2025 (Ashutosh v.State of Uttarakhand & Ors.), a public-spirited individual raised identical issues concerning the same Society. The Division Bench, noting that FIRs had been registered in fourteen cases across the State and similar offences were reported in three other States, directed the State to furnish an action- taken report and requested the learned Standing Counsel for the CBI to obtain instructions for possible transfer of investigation to a central agency.

8. In WPCRL No. 1020 of 2025, the petitioners contend that, despite the gravity of the matter and the clear directions issued in the connected public interest litigation, no tangible progress has been achieved, and the victims continue to be deprived of their hard-earned money.

9. Shri Devang Dobhal, learned counsel for the petitioners, submits that the action of The Loni Urban Multi-State Credit and Thrift Co-operative Society constitutes a massive financial scam operating under the guise of a co-operative structure. Despite multiple complaints and prima facie evidence, the loca