‘Web of Transactions’ Cannot Halt Criminal Probe: J&K High Court Refuses to Quash FIR in NH-40 Case
Case Title: Satyavir Singh Arya v. U.T. of Jammu and Kashmir and Others
Case No.: CRM(M) No. 207/2024
Coram: Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal
Court Observation
“The petitioner has sought to create a web of transactions by relying upon bank statements and payments made by persons other than the respondents. According to the respondents, several of the transactions relied upon by the petitioner were either payments made by the other accused, namely Jagdish Nain, or transactions involving M/s Akash Ganga Infrasolutions LLP and other entities and did not constitute repayment of the amount allegedly invested by respondent No.2 in the NH-40 contract.”
“The allegations are not confined to a mere failure to fulfill a contractual obligation or discharge a financial liability arising out of a transaction between the parties. The case of the prosecution is that the complainant was induced to part with money on the basis of a particular representation and that such inducement was allegedly part of a concerted design involving the petitioner and the co-accused.”
“The allegations, if taken at their face value, are sufficient to require an investigation into the circumstances in which the money was obtained, the representations allegedly made and the role attributed to the accused.”
“The petitioner relies upon the Gurugram agreements and various financial transactions to contend that the amounts referred to by the complainant pertain to a different transaction and that the amounts paid in connection with the present transaction were duly repaid. The complainant, however, disputes this assertion and maintains that the Gurugram transaction is entirely distinct from the transaction forming the subject matter of the FIR.”
“A transaction may have civil consequences and yet, depending upon the allegations and the circumstances in which the transaction was entered into, may also disclose the ingredients of a criminal offence as well. The relevant consideration, therefore, is not merely the nature of the underlying transaction, but whether the allegations disclose the ingredients of the offence alleged.”
“The petitioner maintains that the transactions relied upon by him were genuine and related to the contractual arrangement in question. The complainant, however, contends that those transactions pertain to another contract and have been relied upon to conceal the true nature of the dealings. The correctness of these rival versions, and the true relevance of the transactions relied upon by the petitioner, cannot be conclusively determined in the present proceedings and require examination in the course of investigation.”
‘Web of Transactions’ Cannot Halt Criminal Probe: J&K High Court Refuses to Quash FIR in NH-40 Case
