New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to entertain a plea seeking consolidation of 53 FIRs registered across seven states in connection with an alleged ₹49 crore investment fraud, stressing the need for a victim-centric approach.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi, disagreed with submissions made by senior advocate Aman Lekhi, appearing for the accused Upendra Nath Mishra and Kali Prasad Mishra.
Following the court’s observations, the petitioner withdrew the plea.
The cases are pending in Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa and Andhra Pradesh.
Referring to earlier judgments that allowed consolidation of FIRs in large fraud cases, the bench said such orders tended to favour the accused rather than victims. The court said, “What will happen to the rights of the victims of such crimes,” while declining to grant the relief sought.
The bench noted that recent changes in criminal law recognise victims’ rights and emphasised that each case of fraud is distinct, involving different victims and amounts, even if the accused are the same.
The court said, “For investigation, I cannot club the FIRs. Such victims of fraud are also invisible victims of the judicial system which did not think about them.”
The Chief Justice added, “Is it fair to ask the victims of your crime to come from different places to one place at the convenience of the accused.”
Justice Bagchi also observed that offences of fraud, cheating and conspiracy are separate and distinct, and questioned why victims should be made to suffer.
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