Dismissed¶¶5

Roslin Anitha Mary Salvakumar and Ors. v. Senior Police Inspector and Ors.

Bombay HC6 Jan 2026WP/4618/2025

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Standards for transfer of investigation from State police to CBI/CID under Article 226; FIR No.819 of 2024, Naupada Police Station, Thane West; S.420 IPC cheating; flat booking amounts; Divyamtej Buildcon Pvt. Ltd.; Land Experts; dishonoured cheques for refund; arrest of accused; morale of State police; high rank police officers involvement threshold; liberty to pursue civil/legal remedies; Maharashtra; Bombay High Court Criminal Appellate; dismissed 18.02.2026.

What did the court decide?

Liberty granted to the petitioners to adopt appropriate legal proceedings for seeking refund of the amounts and for action against dishonour of cheques; request for transfer of investigation refused. ¶¶5

Roslin Anitha Mary Salvakumar and Ors. vs Senior Police… — Cheating and Forgery | Bombay HC (2026)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Liberty granted to the petitioners to adopt appropriate legal proceedings for seeking refund of the amounts and for action against dishonour of cheques; request for transfer of investigation refused.

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Issue for consideration

Whether the investigation of FIR No.819 of 2024 dated 30/06/2024 should be transferred from Naupada Police Station, Thane West to the CBI, CID, or any other investigating agency.

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Court's answer

After hearing the learned counsel, the Court found that no case had been made out for transfer of the investigation.

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Ratio / Principle

Transfer of investigation from the State police to any other agency is not a matter of course; such orders may seriously affect the morale of the State police.

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Key takeaways

Orders directing transfer of investigation from the State police are generally not passed under Article 226 of the Constitution except where an extraordinary case is made out and it is demonstrated that high rank police officers are involved.ratio¶¶18
The petitioners have remedies available in law for seeking refund of the amounts and for taking action against dishonour of cheques, and were granted liberty to adopt appropriate legal proceedings accordingly.ratio¶¶5

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Bombay High Court (Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction), Writ Petition No.4618 of 2025, decided 18 February 2026 (Shree Chandrashekhar, CJ. & Gautam A. Ankhad, J.). Petitioners, flat-bookers who paid amounts to persons claiming to be builders/developers (Divyamtej Buildcon Pvt. Ltd. and Land Experts) and who had lodged FIR No.819 of 2024 dated 30 June 2024 at Naupada Police Station, Thane under S.420 IPC, sought transfer of the investigation to CBI/CID, alleging the investigation had not progressed, the accused were not arrested, and cheques handed over for refund of booking amounts stood dishonoured. HELD: transfer of investigation from the State police to any other agency is not a matter of course; under Article 226 such orders are generally not passed except where an extraordinary case is made out and it is demonstrated that high rank police officers are involved — no such case having been made out, transfer was refused. Petitioners were pointed to their remedies in law for refund and for action on the dishonoured cheques and granted liberty to pursue appropriate legal proceedings. Writ petition dismissed.

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

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WRIT PETITION NO.4618 OF 2025

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Roslin Anitha Mary Selvakumar & Ors. .. Petitioners. Vs. Senior Police Inspector, .. Respondents Naupada Police Station & Ors.

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Mr. Mayur D. Sapkale for Petitioners.

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Mrs. M.M. Deshmukh, I/c PP a/w Mr. J.P. Yagnik, Additional GP for StateRespondent No. 1.

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CORAM : SHREE CHANDRASHEKHAR, CJ. & GAUTAM A. ANKHAD, J.

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DATE : 18^th FEBRUARY 2026.

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P.C. :

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This writ petition is filed for the following reliefs :

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“a) This Hon’ble Court may be pleased to transfer the investigation of FIR No.819 of 2024 dated 30/06/2024 from Naupada Police Station, Thane West to CBI, CID, or any other investigating agency in order to carry out effective and speedy legal proceedings against the Accused.

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b) Any other reliefs or directions or orders as this Hon’ble Court may deem fit in the public interest and interest of justice may be passed.”

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It is the petitioners’ case that the accused persons had represented themselves to be builders/developers of real estate project under the name Divyamtej Buildcon Pvt. Ltd. and Land Experts. The petitioners cumulatively made certain payments for booking of the flats and executed Memorandum of Understanding for the same. Shortly thereafter, the petitioners learnt that the said accused persons were not developers and had no authority to sell the flats or land of the building which were shown to the petitioners. The petitioners, thus, lodged FIR No.819 of 2024 dated 30^th June 2024 with Naupada Police Station, Thane under section 420 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. It is pleaded that after filing of the said FIR, the

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accused persons handed over certain cheques for repayment of the booking amounts to the petitioners in the presence of police authorities. However, the same have been dishonoured.

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Mr. Mayur D. Sapkale, the learned counsel for the petitioners states that the investigation in FIR. No.819 of 2024 has not progressed and the accused persons have not been arrested by the Investigating Officer. The learned counsel for the petitioners further states that the accused persons have given an undertaking of repayment in presence of the police officer yet no action was taken by the Investigating Officer.

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We have heard the learned counsel and find that no case has been made out for transfer of investigation. The transfer of investigation from the State police to any other agency is not a matter of course. Any order directing transfer of investigation from the State police may have serious effect on the morale of the State police and, therefore, such orders are generally not passed in exercise of the jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India except where extraordinary case has been made out and it is demonstrated that high rank police officers are involved.

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The petitioners have a remedy available in law for seeking refund of the amounts as well as for taking action against dishonour of cheques. Granting such liberty to the petitioners to adopt appropriate legal proceedings, Writ Petition No.4618 of 2025 is dismissed.

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[GAUTAM A. ANKHAD, J.]

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[CHIEF JUSTICE]

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BHALCHANDRA GOPAL DUSANE

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Digitally signed by BHALCHANDRA GOPAL DUSANE Date: 2026.03.07 18:26:25 +0530

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