Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Aug 3: High Court has directed the Economic Offences Wing of Crime Branch, Kashmir to further investigate the case with regard to filing of fake complaints by a fraudulent company in various courts in North Kashmir for extorting money from outside businessmen.
Justice Sanjay Dhar has passed the direction in a case filed by one Vikram Bhardwaj a reputed businessman running a company M/S Topline Buildtech Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi seeking quashing of proceedings filed against him before the trial court under Negotiable Instrument Act by one Sania Fayaz, attorney holder of one Pankaj Jain.
The court has been informed that a number of cases have been filed against non-state subjects at the hands of some locals operating in Anantnag, Kulgam and Qazigund and in most of the cases, complaints have been preferred by attorney holders acting for and on behalf of a fraudulent company known as “Host Finance & Investments Pvt. Ltd.”
It has been contended that in most of these cases, the complainants are Sania Fayaz and Lubna Bashir working on the instructions of Pankaj Jain, Director of the company M/S Host Finance. It was also learnt that these persons work as a team in various districts of Kashmir Valley and target well settled businessmen of the country by instituting fake, false and fictitious complaints so as to extort money from the businessmen by taking advantage of the security situation in Kashmir valley, particularly in South Kashmir.
Justice Dhar directed the respondent Economic Offences Wing of Crime Branch, Kashmir to undertake further investigation of the case with regard to the role of the complainants, plaintiffs, lawyers who had filed false complaints and cases before various courts and on the basis of the material that may be collected during investigation.
Court directed the investigating agency to take appropriate action against those found to be actively involved with the main accused, namely, Ajay Agarwal and Pankaj Jain. “The investigation of FIR No.84/2022 of Police Station, Kulgam, be transferred to Economic Offences Wing of Crime Branch, Kashmir, for undertaking investigation in accordance with the law”, Court directed.
Court also directed that the investigation as regards offence under Section 209 of RPC be taken to its logical conclusion and if found established, the material collected during investigation be placed before the respective courts for taking further action in the matter in accordance with law.
Court has also recorded that there is no material available on record to even remotely suggest that any judicial officer was involved in the alleged conspiracy of filing false cases. “The role of the judicial officers would come under scrutiny of this Court while deciding those cases which are pending before this court on the judicial side after examining the record of the trial court. If the situation warrants, appropriate orders would follow in those cases.
“So far as the role of lawyers in filing of false cases is concerned, the investigating agency appears to have done nothing in that regard and the same is required to be investigated”, the court further added.
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