Pankaj Kumar Muduli Vs State of Odisha

cognizance of the of f ences in connection with the charge-s h eet submitted pursuant to Kalinga Nagar P.S. Case No.29 of 2017. The Petitioners in both the applications are the accused persons in I.C.C. C ase No.36 of 2017 pending before the learned J.M.F.C., Jajpur Road.

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Since both C RLMC No.114 of 2022 and CRL M C No.501 of 2022 arise out of th e same proceeding and involve common questions of fact and law, they w ere heard analogously and are bei n g disposed of together by this com m on order. 4. The backgro u nd facts, in brief, are that the Petitio n ers along with others were allegedl y running a company in the name an d style of M/s. Master Capital Ser v ices Limited, engaged in share mark e t and trading activities, alluring m embers of the public to invest money with them by assuring monthly returns of 4% to 5%. In the process, h uge amounts were collected from the investors, but neither the capital a mount nor the promised interest w a s repaid. Verification by the investor s revealed that M/s. Master Capital Services Limited was neither regist e red under the SEBI Act, 1992 no r authorized to raise funds from the p ublic through issuance of securitie s or any other scheme. Since the Petiti o ners, being at the helm of affairs o f the said company, allegedly misappropriated the investors’ money a n d failed to refund despite repeate d demands, a written complaint w as lodged before Kalinga Nagar P.S. Based on the said complaint, FI R No.79(2) of 2016 was registered u nder Sections 420/406/506/34 of I P C. Upon completion of investigatio n , charge-sheet was submitted on l y against one Sarita Kumar Mu d uli, keeping investigation open u n der Section 173(8) Cr.P.C.

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While the m atter so stood, another investor, n a mely Basanta Kumar Behera, file d a complaint before the learned J. M .F.C., Jajpur

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Road, alleging that t he Petitioners along with others, bei n g officials of M/s. Master Capita l Services Limited, had opened offi c es at Duburi Chowk and Bangla Chowk, Kalinga Nagar, collected money from him and several others o n the assurance of monthly returns of 2 % to 3%, and even issued post-da t ed cheques to gain their confidence, but ultimately cheated the investor s of more than Rs.8 Crores. The said c omplaint was registered as I.C.C. Case No.36 of 2017. The learned J. M .F.C., Jajpur Road referred the m atter under Section 156(3) Cr.P. C . to the IIC, Kalinga Nagar P.S. f or registration of FIR and investigati o n, pursuant to which Kalinga Na g ar P.S. Case No.29 of 2017 was r egistered. On completion of investigation, Final Form was submitte d against the Petitioners and othe r s, holding them prima facie guilty of o ffences under Sections 420/468/4 0 6/120-B of IPC. Consequent there t o, G.R. Case No.228 of 2017 w a s registered, and cognizance of the offences was taken by order dat e d 27.06.2017. As the Petitioners fa i led to appear despite process, N BW was issued against them by order dated 24.09.2021.

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Mr. Milan K anungo, learned Senior Advocate, ap p earing for the Petitioners, assailed the impugned order on the ground that while an earlier FIR, i.e., Ka l inga Nagar P.S. Case No.79 of 201 6 , on the selfsame allegations w a s pending investigation, the subseq u ent complaint lodged by Basanta K umar Behera and registration of FIR N o.29 of 2017 on identical allegati o ns is legally unsustainable. He subm i tted that since Basanta Kumar Beh e ra himself was a signatory to the ea r lier complaint which led to registra t ion of FIR No.79 of 2016, he could n o t have lodged a fresh complaint o n the same cause of action. In s u pport of his contention, he place d reliance upon the decision of the Ho n ’ble Supreme

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Court in T.T. Antony vs. State of Kerala & Others , repor t ed in (2001) 6 SCC 181 ¸ as well a s the judgment rendered by a Co-ordi n ate Bench of this Court in CRLMC No.312 of 2016 , in the matter of Krushna Ch. Debata vs. State of Odisha reported in MANU/OR/0673/2021 , to argue that a second FIR o n the same set of facts is impermissible in law. Learned Senior Co u nsel further reiterated the principles laid down in State of Haryana & Others vs. Bhajan Lal reported in AIR 1992 SC 604 , and urged that this Court, in exercise of its plenary powers under Section 482 Cr.P.C . , ought to quash the impugned pro c eeding, as its continuance would serve no purpose and amount to abuse of the process of law, being manifestly tainted with mala fide intention.

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Mr. Apat, l e arned counsel for the State, on th e other hand, vehemently opposed the contentions advanced on b ehalf of the Petitioners. He sub m itted that the complaint lodged by B asanta Kumar Behera before the learned J.M.F.C., Jajpur Road disc l oses a wider canvas of allegati o ns involving a larger number of victims and transactions, in cont r ast to those forming the subject mat t er of Kalinga Nagar P.S. Case No.79 of 2016. Mr. Apat further conten d ed that when the matter is exami n ed on the touchstone of the ‘test of s ameness’, the subsequent FIR regi s tered pursuant to the direction of th e learned court in I.C.C. Case No.3 6 of 2017 cannot be said to be a verb a tim repetition of the earlier FIR. R ather, it reveals a broader scope of investigation, encompassing addit i onal persons, investors, and a larg e r quantum of fraud. Accordingly, he argued that there is no illegality i n the learned court below taking c o gnizance of the offences pursuant to t he said FIR.

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Upon hearin g the learned counsel for the parties a nd on perusal of the materials on r ecord, particularly the allegations in the complaint

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lodged initially by one Bitun Kumar Jena and othe r s which was registered as Kaling a Nagar P.S. Case No.79 of 2016, and t he subsequent complaint lodged b y Basanta Kumar Behera culminati n g in Kalinga Nagar P.S. Case No.29 of 2017, it appears that both comp l aints arise out of a broadly similar incident. However, the complaint lod g ed at the first instance was rather cryptic, involving only a few per s ons allegedly engaged in share t r ading under the banner of M/s. M aster Capital Services Limited. It is the contention of the Petitioners th a t for the selfsame cause of actio n , a criminal prosecution had already been initiated and a charge-sheet submitted in connection with the earli e r FIR, though investigation in the subsequent FIR proceeded independ e ntly and also culminated in subm i ssion of charge-sheet. It is further a r gued that the learned court belo w , without proper application of judi c ial mind and without duly consid e ring the materials on record, procee d ed with G.R. Case No.228 of 201 7 , thereby permitting multiplicity of p roceedings on the same cause of a ction. According to the Petitioners, such parallel prosecution is impe r missible and this Court, in exercise o f its inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 Cr.P.C., ought to quash the impugned order of cognizance.

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The First Information Report is indeed the initi a l record of a cognizable offence, s erving as the foundation for initiatin g investigation into a crime and m a rking the commencement of the cri m inal case. In T.T. Antony vs. State of Kerala (supra), the Hon’ble Supr e me Court laid down the general pr i nciple that a second FIR for the same offence is not maintainable. However, in subsequent decisions s u ch as Anju Chaudhary vs. State of U.P. reported in (2013) 6 SCC 384 , Kari Chaudhary vs. Sita Devi reported in (2002) 1 SCC 714 , Upkar Singh vs.

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Ved Prakash , repor t ed in (2004) 13 SCC 292, Babubhai vs. State of Gujarat & Others , r eported in 2010 (12) SCC 254 and Nirmal Singh Kahlon vs. State of Punjab , reported in (2009) 1 SCC 441 , the Hon’ble Court emphasised a nd modified the principle by reco g nising that a straitjacket formula cannot be applied to reject a seco n d FIR in all circumstances. The l ater precedents emphasise that where new facts and circumstances emerge, disclosing a broader scope of culpability or revealing involve m ent of additional persons and t r ansactions, a subsequent FIR ma y be entertained notwithstanding its o r igin from the same incident.

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The moot q u estion, therefore, is whether the subse q uent criminal prosecution initiated pursuant to Kalinga Nagar P.S. Case N o.29 of 2017 is liable to be quas h ed on the ground that, for the same o ccurrence and cause of action, an e a rlier FIR had already been lodged an d investigation commenced in conn e ction with Kalinga Nagar P.S. Case N o.79 of 2016, thereby attracting t h e inherent jurisdiction of this Court under Section 482 Cr.P.C. The po s ition of law regarding maintainabili t y of a second FIR has been autho r itatively considered by the Hon’ble S upreme Court in Upkar Singh vs. Ved Prakash, reported in (2004) 13 SCC 292 , as follows –

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“21. From the above it is clear that even in regard to a complaint a r ising out of a complaint on fu r ther investigation if it was found that there was a l a rger conspiracy t h an the one referred to in the pre v ious complaint th e n a further investigation under the c ourt culminating i n another complaint is permissible.

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A perusa l of the judgment of this Court in Ra m Lal Narang v. St a te (Delhi Admn.) [(1979) 2 SCC 322: 1 979 SCC (Cri) 4 7 9] also shows that even in cases wh e re a prior complaint is already registered, a counter-comp l aint is permissibl e but it goes further and holds that ev e n in

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cases wher e a first complaint is registered and investigation initiated, it is possible to file a fu r ther complaint by the same complainant based on the material gathered dur i ng the course of investigation. Of co u rse, this larger p r oposition of law laid down in Ram Lal Narang case [ (1979) 2 SCC 322: 1979 SCC (Cri) 47 9 ] is not necessar y to be relied on by us in the present c ase. Suffice it to s ay that the discussion in Ram Lal Na r ang case [(1979) 2 SCC 322: 1979 SCC (Cri) 479] is i n the same line as found in the judgments in Kari Choud h ary [(2002) 1 S C C 714: 2002 SCC (Cri) 269] and Sta t e of Bihar v. J.A. C . Saldanha [(1980) 1 SCC 554: 1980 S CC (Cri) 272: A IR 1980 SC 326] . However, it must be noticed that i n T.T. Antony case (2001) 6 SCC 181: 2 001 SCC (Cri) 1 0 48] Ram Lal Narang case [(1979) 2 S CC 322: 1979 S C C (Cri) 479] was noticed but the Cour t did not express a n y opinion either way.

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Be that a s it may, if the law laid down by this C ourt in T.T. Anto n y case [(2001) 6 SCC 181: 2001 SCC ( Cri) 1048] is to be accepted as holding that a se c ond complaint in regard to the same incident filed a s a counter-com p laint is prohibited under the Code the n , in our opinion, such conclusion would lead to se r ious consequence s . This will be clear from the hypothetical example giv e n hereinbelow i.e. if in regard to a c r ime committed b y the real accused he takes the first opportunity t o lodge a false complaint and the sa m e is registered by the jurisdictional police then the aggri e ved victim of su c h crime will be recluded from lodgi n g a complaint gi v ing his version of the incident in ques t ion, consequently he will be deprived of his legitimated r ight to bring the real accused to book. This cannot b e the purport of th e Code.

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We have already noticed that in T.T. Antony case [(2001) 6 SC C 181:2001 SCC (Cri) 1048] this Cour t did not consider t he legal right of an aggrieved person t o file counterclaim, on the contrary from the observa t ions found in the s aid judgment it clearly indicates that fi ling a counter-co m plaint is permissible.”

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While deali n g with a similar matter in connection with the second FIR, the H on’ble Supreme Court in the m a tter of Anju

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Chaudhary Vs. State of U.P. reported in (2013) 6 SCC 384 has held as follows –

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“14. On the plain construction of the language and scheme of S e ctions 154, 156 and 190 of the Co d e, it cannot be co n strued or suggested that there can be m ore than one FIR about an occurrence. However, the ope n ing words of Se c tion 154 suggest that every inform a tion relating to c o mmission of a cognizable offence sha l l be reduced into w riting by the officer-in-charge of a p o lice station. This implies that there has to be the first information report about an incident which constitu t es a cognizable o f fence. The purpose of registering an F I R is to set the m achinery of criminal investigation into motion, whic h culminates with filing of the police r e port in terms of Section 173(2) of the Code. It will, thu s , be appropriate t o follow the settled principle that t here cannot be t w o FIRs registered for the same off e nce. However, w h ere the incident is separate; offences are similar or di f ferent, or even where the subsequent c r ime is of such ma g nitude that it does not fall within the a m bit and scope o f the FIR recorded first, then a second FIR could be re g istered. The most important aspect is to examine th e inbuilt safeguards provided by the legislature in the very language of Section 154 o f the Code. These safeguards can be safely deduced fro m the principle a k in to double jeopardy, rule of fair investigation and further to prevent abuse of powe r by the investig a ting authority of the police. There f ore, second FIR f or the same incident cannot be regist e red. Of course, th e investigating agency has no determin a tive right. It is o n ly a right to investigate in accordance w ith the provisio n s of the Code. The filing of report u pon completion o f investigation, either for cancellatio n or alleging co m mission of an offence, is a matter which once filed b e fore the court of competent jurisdi c tion attains a kin d of finality as far as police is conce r ned, may be in a given case, subject to the right of fu r ther investigation but wherever the investigation has b een completed and a person is found to be prima facie g u ilty of committin g an offence or otherwise, re-examin a tion by the inves t igating agency on its own should not be

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permitted me r ely by registering another FIR with re g ard to the same o ffence. If such protection is not given to a suspect, then possibility of abuse of investigating po w ers by the police cannot be ruled out. It is with this inte n tion in mind tha t such interpretation should be give n to Section 154 o f the Code, as it would not only furthe r the object of law but even that of just and fair investiga t ion. More so, in the backdrop of the settled canon s of criminal de novo jurisprudence, reinvestigatio n or investigation is beyond the competence of not onl y the investigating agency but even that of the lea r ned Magistrate. T h e courts have taken this view primaril y for the reason th a t it would be opposed to the scheme o f the Code and m o re particularly Section 167(2) of the C ode. (Ref. Reeta N ag v. State of W.B. [(2009) 9 SCC 129: (2009) 3 SC C (Cri) 1051] and Vinay Tyagi v. Irsha d Ali [(2013) 5 SC C 762] of the same date.)”

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In T.T. Antony Vs. State of Kerala reported in (2001) 6 SCC 181 , the Hon’ble Su p reme Court has held as follows:-

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“27. A just b a lance between the fundamental rights o f the citizens unde r Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution and the expansi v e power of the police to investiga t e a cognizable o f fence has to be struck by the court. There cannot be an y controversy that sub-section (8) of Se c tion 173 CrPC empowers the police to make fu r ther investigation, obtain further evidence (both oral and documentary ) and forward a further report or repor t s to the Magistrat e . In Narang case [(1979) 2 SCC 322: 1 979 SCC (Cri) 4 7 9] it was, however, observed that it w o uld be appropria t e to conduct further investigation wit h the permission o f the court. However, the sweeping pow e r of investigation does not warrant subjecting a citizen e ach time to fresh investigation by the police in respect o f the same incide n t, giving rise to one or more cogni z able offences, co n sequent upon filing of successive F IRs whether bef o re or after filing the final report u n der Section 173( 2 ) CrPC. It would clearly be beyon d the purview of Sections 154 and 156 CrPC, nay, a ca s e of abuse of the statutory power of investigation in a given case. In our v iew a case of fresh investigation base d on the second o r successive FIRs, not being a counter- c ase,

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filed in co n nection with the same or conn e cted cognizable o f fence alleged to have been committed i n the course of th e same transaction and in respect of w hich pursuant to t he first FIR either investigation is u n der. way or fina l report under Section 173(2) has b een forwarded t o the Magistrate, may be a fit case for exercise of p ower under Section 482 CrPC or u n der Articles 226/ 2 27 of the Constitution.”

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The Hon’ble Apex Court in the matter of State of Rajasthan Vs. Surendra Singh Rathore reported in 2025 INSC 248 , held as follows:-

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“8.5. In Nirmal Singh Kahlon v. State of Punjab this Court held, i n the following terms that when a new discovery i s made, the second FIR would be maintainable. It was said as follows:

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“67. The second FIR, in our opinion, w o uld be maintaina b le not only because there were diff e rent versions but when new discovery is made on fa c tual foundations. Discoveries may be made by the p o lice authorities a t a subsequent stage. Discovery abo u t a larger conspi r acy can also surface in another procee d ing, as for exam p le, in a case of this nature. If the p o lice authorities di d not make a fair investigation and lef t out conspiracy a s pect of the matter from the purview o f its investigation, in our opinion, as and when the s ame surfaced, it w as open to the State and/or the High C ourt to direct inv e stigation in respect of an offence whi c h is distinct and s e parate from the one for which the FI R had already been l odged.”

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8.6. Apart fr o m these judgments, reference can als o be made to Ram Lal Narang v. State (Delhi Admn.) ; Surender Kaushik v. State of U.P. ; and P. Sreekumar v. State of Kerala .

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9. From the above conspectus of judgments, inter alia, the followi n g principles emerge regarding the permissibilit y of the registration of a second FIR:

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9.1 When t h e second FIR is counter-complain t or presents a ri v al version of a set of facts, in referen c e to which an earl i er FIR already stands registered.

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9.2 When th e ambit of the two FIRs is different e ven though the y may arise from the same set of circumstance s .

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9.3 When in v estigation and/or other avenues revea l the earlier FIR or set of facts to be part of a l a rger conspiracy.

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9.4 When i n vestigation and/or persons related to the incident brin g to the light hitherto unknown facts or circumstance s .

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9.5 Where th e incident is separate; offences are simil a r or different.

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10. As recorded supra, the High Court found tha t the two FIRs we r e indeed in regard to the same offence and, therefore, no t maintainable, however, in our view the scope of the two FIRs, as already referred to in p a ra 3 supra, are di s tinct. The FIR prior in point of time r e fers to a particul a r incident and the action taken there i n is limited. The second FIR pertains to the larger iss u e of widespread c o rruption in the concerned department and, therefore, is m uch larger in its scope than the pre v ious FIR.

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11. Quash i ng of the FIR would nip the investig a tion into such co r ruption, in the bud. The same woul d be against the in t erest of society.

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12. In th e attending facts and circumstances, the judgment re fe rred to in para 1, impugned herein i s set aside and FI R No.131 of 2022 stands restored on th e file of the Anti- C orruption Bureau, Jaipur. We direct the completion of the investigation at the earliest. Dir e ctor General of P o lice, Rajasthan, to ensure compliance w ith the directions.”

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From the outline of the aforesaid decisions, it e m erges that the principle against re g istration of a second FIR, as enun c iated in T.T. Antony (supra), is not an absolute rule of prohibition. The Hon’ble Supreme Court in Upkar Singh (supra), Anju Chaudhary (supra) , Nirmal Singh Kahlon (supra), and most recently in State of Rajasthan vs. Surendra Singh Rathore (supra), has consistently clari f ied that while

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multiplicity of FIR s on the same cause of action is im p ermissible, a subsequent FIR ma y be justified where the allegations d i sclose a rival version of the inci d ent, a broader conspiracy, wider i n volvement of accused persons, discovery of new facts or circumstances , or a scope of crime not covered w i thin the first FIR. Thus, the test is not merely one of chronology but of s a meness; if the subsequent FIR traverses a distinct field of inquiry, e ither in terms of persons involv e d, nature of allegations, or ma g nitude of offence, its maintainabil i ty cannot be denied.

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Turning no w to the factual matrix of the instant c a se in the light of the aforesaid p r inciples, learned counsel for the S tate has also produced the writte n instruction of the I.I.C., Kalinga Na g ar P.S., which indicates that in Ka l inga Nagar P.S. Case No.29 of 201 7 , many more witnesses have been examined as compared to Case No.7 9 of 2016. The investigation therein has been carried out extensively, coll e cting a larger body of material, i n volving a greater number of accuse d persons, and disclosing offences d ifferent from those alleged in Case N o.79 of 2016. From the case recor d it is revealed that about 97 witnesse s had invested their money with t h e establishment belonging to the ac c used persons, and the number of a c cused arrayed is also significantly hig h er than in the earlier case. On a cl o se scrutiny of the allegations made in the complaint lodged by Basanta K umar Behera, as against the initial co m plaint lodged by Bitun Kumar Jen a (in which Behera himself was a sig n atory), though relatable to the sa m e broad transaction, the scope o f investigation concerning the Petitioners in offences under Sections 420/ 4 68/406/120-B IPC is materially dis t inct.

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In the earlie r complaint, the Petitioners were not e ven shown as accused, whereas th e subsequent investigation has broug h t to light their active involvement i n fraudulent activities. As held in Stat e of Rajasthan (supra) , when the e arlier action is found to be limited, a second FIR covering the larger c anvas of the fraudulent acts allegedly committed by the Petitioners cann o t be treated as identical or repetitiv e . The second FIR, therefore, is no t only broader in scope but has also cu l minated in an elaborate investig a tion implicating the Petitioners. Hence, the cognizance taken by the learned court below pursuant to the charge-sheet in Kalinga Nagar P.S. Case No.29 of 2017 cannot be eq u ated with, or treated as, the same a s that in Case No.79 of 2016.

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It is also bo r ne out from the materials that the Pe t itioners, from the very inception, a llured the public into depositing the i r money with the dishonest intent i on of defrauding them. The offence s subsequently revealed thus give ri s e to a case that necessarily warrants a fair trial, both Signature Not Verified in order to secure ju s tice for the victims and to uphold the confidence of Digitally Signed Signed by: BIJAY KETAN SAHOO Reason: Authenticationsociety in the rule o f law. Location: HIGH COURT OF ORI SSA Date: 11-Sep-2025 19:09:51

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This Court, t herefore, finds no illegality in the co g nizance taken by the learned cour t below; and the present Petitions, b e ing devoid of merit, stand dismiss e d.

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(Chittaranjan Dash) Judge

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Bijay

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Pankaj Kumar Muduli v. State of Odisha

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Pankaj Kumar Muduli v. State of Odisha

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