Special statutory procedure under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act prevails over general CrPC requirements for application verification.

An application under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 must comply with the Act and its prescribed Rules, which constitute a self-contained special procedure. The Bombay HC held that Section 5 of the Code of Criminal Procedure does not override that scheme, and the Act's overriding clause gives it primacy where the special procedure applies. Verification stating that the contents were true and correct to the best of the deponent's knowledge derived from records was treated as sufficient disclosure of the source of knowledge. On that basis, the application was found to satisfy the prescribed form and verification requirements, and the objection based on absence of a separate affidavit under the CrPC was rejected.

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Issues: Whether an application under Section 4 of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 was liable to be rejected for want of a separate affidavit under Section 297 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and whether the verification given on the basis of records satisfied the statutory requirement.

Analysis: The application under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 had to be filed in the form and manner prescribed by the Act and the Rules. The special procedure under the Act and Rule 3 of the Declaration of Fugitive Economic Offender (Forms and Manner of Filing Application) Rules, 2018 was held to be self-contained. Section 5 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 did not displace that special procedure, and Section 21 of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 gave the Act overriding effect. The verification stated that the contents were true and correct to the best of the deponent's knowledge derived from records, which was treated as a sufficient disclosure of the source of knowledge. The application was found to comply with the prescribed format and the objection based on the absence of a separate affidavit was rejected.

Conclusion: The challenge to the application failed, as the verification and statutory form requirements were held to be properly complied with.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a special statute prescribes its own application procedure, compliance with that special procedure is sufficient and the general procedural requirements of the Code of Criminal Procedure will not override it absent inconsistency.

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