NEW DELHI: Delhi high court (HC) has pulled up Delhi Police for not registering a case of cheating against a real estate firm, which allegedly duped several persons by inducing them to invest in its project to build a mall in north Delhi on the false promise of ownership of shops. The court directed the cops to file an FIR in the case.
Justice Vipin Sanghi said the reluctance shown by the cops in lodging a case despite disclosure of commission of serious offences, including criminal breach of trust and forgery, and its opposition to such an order in the lower courts and the HC “shakes the confidence” and raises doubts “as to whether the police is truly interested in performing its statutory obligations”. The judge also said that non-registration of an FIR has led to “serious miscarriage of justice” to the petitioners, represented by senior advocate Ravi Gupta and advocate Dhanesh Relan.
“The possibility of the accused (Today Homes and Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, its CMD VK Ghambir and Director Arun Nayyar), who are builders, having deep pockets, influencing the machinery cannot be ruled out,” the court said and added that though it was inclined to transfer the probe to CBI, it was refraining to do so “in the hope that Delhi Police would make endeavours to redeem themselves and restore the confidence of the court”.
The high court also imposed cost of Rs 10,000 each on the firm, and its two officials and directed them to pay the amount within two weeks from August 23, the date of the order which also said that if the petitioners, the complainants who claimed to have been cheated, were not satisfied with the manner and pace of the investigation, they can move a plea for transferring the probe to another independent agency like the CBI.
HC also quashed the magisterial and sessions courts orders rejecting the complainants petitions for registration of FIR in the matter, saying “serious miscarriage of justice has taken place by denying to petitioners their prayer for direction to the cops to register a case on their complaint”.
Source: Press Trust of Indai