2021 (1) TMI 1319

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....ots in a layout titled "Little Singapore" near Koyambedu and collected a sum of Rs. 20 lakhs from the de facto complainants, but, eventually, cheated them. 4. The allegation in Cr. No. 1 of 2010 is that JBJ City Developers had collected deposits from the de facto complainant to the tune of Rs. 1 lakh with the assurance that it will get doubled in six months. It is, however, alleged that the accused cheated the de facto complainant. 5. Since Section 420 IPC, which figures in both the FIRs, is a 'schedule offence' within the meaning of Section 2(y) of the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002 (for brevity "the PML Act"), the Enforcement Directorate suo motu, registered a case in ECIR No. 10 of 2011 on 20.01.2011 and took up investigation of the case under the PML Act in order to find out if the accused in the FIRs had indulged in money laundering. 6. After completing the investigation, the Enforcement Directorate filed a complaint in C.C. No. 57 of 2016 against Justin Devadoss (A. 1), Bella Justin (A.2), JBJ City Developers Ltd. (A.3) and Samuel Sunder Singh George Knudson (A.4) for the offences under Sections 3 and 4 of the PML Act and the case is now pending tri....

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....Enforcement Directorate, aggrieved by which, the Enforcement Directorate has preferred the instant criminal revision. 11. This Court carefully perused the records, including the impugned order passed by the trial Court and is indeed bemused to note the undue importance that has been given to the ECIR document of the Enforcement Directorate. The trial Court, in the impugned order, has observed as under: "8. ....When the provisions of Cr.P.C. for all purposes is applicable to the proceedings before the Special Court, Section 173(5), 190, Section 207 Cr.P.C. will certainly come into place as and when either the final report or a complaint is filed before the Court. It is significant to note that the case of the complainant Enforcement Directorate starts from the ECIR Report/listed document No. II. Listed document No. 1 is in respect of the scheduled offence. Therefore, the complainant/Enforcement Directorate should produce the original ECIR before this Court in order to prove the offences as against the accused." 12. To appreciate what an ECIR form is, it may be necessary to extract it verbatim. "ENFORCEMENT CASE INFORMATION REPORT (ECIR) 1. ECIR No. 1....

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....he said Shri. Justin Devadass @ David while recovering their cheated amount. Further, another complaint has been filed by one Shri. T. Ragotthaman to the effect that based on an advertisement that the amount invested in M/s. JBJ City Developers would get doubled in 6 months, the complainant had invested an amount of Rs. 1 lakh on 9.9.2008 into M/s. JBJ City Developers, vide Receipt No. 002825; that a post dated cheque No. 420560 was also received by him from Shri Justin Devadas @ David of M/s. JBJ City Developers; that he was also advised by the said Shri Justin Devadas @ David not to present the said cheque but to get cash from his office and that subsequently when he went to the office of M/s. JBJ City Developers to get the due amount in cash he was manhandled by the said Shri Justin Devadas @ David and his henchmen, and furthermore threatened with his life. The said Shri. T. Ragotthaman, inter alia, prayed for appropriate action against the said Shri Justin Devadas @ David while recovering his cheated amount. Based on the above said complaint filed by the said Shri. A. Selvaraj and his wife Smt. P. Rani, FIR No. 09/2009 dated 16.12.2009 was registered u/s. 420 ....

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.... by a person of the commission of a cognizable offence and (ii) suo motu by the police, based on intelligence. 15. An FIR assumes great significance in offences relating to physical violence like murder, rape, etc., because, the contents of the FIR will throw light on certain important aspects like time and date as to when the complaint (not to be confused with a complaint under Section 2(d), Cr.P.C.) was given. The complaint, which forms the basis of registration of the FIR is required to be sent along with the FIR, to the jurisdictional Magistrate expeditiously, in order to keep him informed of the commencement of investigation under Section 157 Cr.P.C. The complaint given by the complainant can be used to either corroborate or contradict him whilst he is in the witness box during trial. 16. Suo motu FIRs are normally registered by the police in white-collar offences where the date and timings in the FIR have least significance. The Enforcement Directorate is not conducting an investigation under Chapter XII of the Cr.P.C., but, on the strength of the powers of search, seizure, recording of statements and arrest, conferred on them by various provisions of the PML Act. 17....

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.... to dispensing with the formal proof of a document when the same is not disputed by the other side. 21. The Special Public Prosecutor could have obtained the original of the ECIR form from the Adjudicating Authority in New Delhi either by sending a letter to him or filing a petition under Section 91 Cr.P.C. Instead of guiding the Court properly, he has relied upon "a non-existent provision', viz. Section 300 C.R.P." 22. In the worst scenario, where, the ECIR form itself is not marked during trial, that by itself, will not vitiate the trial, for the simple reason that, the objective satisfaction arrived at and recorded in the ECIR form by the Enforcement Officer that an investigation under the PML Act has to be commenced based on the knowledge acquired by him that the police have registered a case for a 'schedule offence', can, by no stretch of imagination, either lead to the proof of guilt or otherwise of the person prosecuted under the PML Act. Conviction or acquittal of an accused under the PML Act, can be based only on substantive evidence and not on the mere objective satisfaction arrived at and recorded by the Enforcement Officer in the ECIR form. In criminal....