Court quashes redundant FIR, transfers case to SFIO under Companies Act, 2013.

The court quashed the FIR dated 12.01.2023 registered at the Economic Offences Wing, New Delhi, as the issues were already being investigated by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) under the Companies Act, 2013. The court emphasized that once the SFIO is assigned a case, no other agency can proceed with the investigation related to the same offenses. The FIR was deemed redundant and an abuse of the legal process, leading to its quashing and transfer of documents to the SFIO for further investigation.

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Issues Involved:

1. Whether the impugned FIR dated 12.01.2023 before the EOW and the proceedings emanating therefrom are maintainable in view of the pendency of earlier SFIO proceedings initiated pursuant to the first complaint to the Central Government (MCA) on 14.10.2021 under Section 212 of the 2013 ActRs.
2. Whether the allegations made in the first complaint dated 14.06.2021 to the MCA and in the second complaint dated 15.08.2021 to the EOW are similar/same involving the same set of facts containing the same allegations made against the same individual(s) by the same complainantRs.
3. What are the effects of the provisions contained in Section 212 of the 2013 Act upon the factual matrix of the caseRs.

Summary:

Issue 1: Maintainability of FIR in View of SFIO Proceedings

The petitioner sought quashing of FIR No. 06/2023 dated 12.01.2023 registered under Sections 406/420/120-B IPC at P.S. Economic Offences Wing, New Delhi, on the grounds that the same issues were already under investigation by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) pursuant to a complaint dated 14.06.2021. The court noted that once the SFIO is assigned a case under Section 212(1) of the Companies Act, 2013, no other investigating agency can proceed with the investigation in respect of any offence under this Act, as per Section 212(2). Therefore, the impugned FIR is not maintainable and should be quashed.

Issue 2: Similarity of Allegations in Both Complaints

The court observed that both the first complaint to the MCA and the second complaint to the EOW are verbatim copies of each other, with the same allegations and against the same individuals. The only difference lies in the last paragraph, where the provisions of law have been changed. Since the allegations in the impugned FIR are already covered under the SFIO proceedings, the FIR is deemed redundant and an abuse of the process of law.

Issue 3: Effects of Section 212 of the Companies Act, 2013

Section 212 of the Companies Act, 2013, is a complete code in itself, providing for the investigation by the SFIO into the affairs of a company. Once an investigation is assigned to the SFIO, no other agency can investigate the same offences under this Act. The court emphasized that the SFIO is a specialized body with experts from various fields, and its investigation takes precedence over any parallel proceedings by other agencies. Therefore, the impugned FIR should be transferred to the SFIO.

Conclusion:

The court quashed FIR No. 06/2023 dated 12.01.2023 registered under Sections 406/420/120-B IPC at P.S. Economic Offences Wing, New Delhi, qua the petitioner, and directed that all documents available with the EOW be transferred to the SFIO within four weeks. The SFIO, already seized of the investigation, will continue its proceedings as per the complaint dated 14.06.2021.

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