CUTTACK: The kingpin of a multi-crore Ponzi scam involving Seashore Group of Companies CMD Prashanta Kumar Dash’s petition for the transfer of 19 criminal cases pending in different courts of the state to the Special CBI Court in Bhubaneswar was dismissed by the Orissa High Court on Friday. The scam involved alleged conspiracy in duping investors of their deposits to the tune of over Rs 500 crores through the Ponzi firms.
Following orders of the Supreme Court, the CBI had taken up an investigation of 22 of the 41 FIRs registered against Seashore Group. Accordingly, trial in these 22 cases is pending before the Special CBI Court. Trial in the 19 cases left over by CBI is pending in different courts under the jurisdiction of which the respective police stations had registered the FIRs.
Dash had filed the transfer petition on the ground that the connected FIRs had the same spectrum as those being investigated by the CBI. Besides, the 19 left-over cases also pertained to allegations which were no different from the 22 FIRs taken over by the CBI for investigation, the petition contended.
However, Chief Justice S Muralidhar said, “In a Special CBI court, the prosecutor is the CBI. In the present case, in regard to the left out 19 cases, it is obvious that the CBI would not be the prosecutor, but the local police. Therefore, to ask such cases to be transferred to the CBI Court would be impermissible in law.” The CJ also observed there have to be separate trials for each of the ‘offences’ alleged to have been committed by the petitioner and others of Seashore Group of Companies vis-a-vis individual depositors. “It cannot be said all the cases constitute the ‘same offence’ and part of the same ‘cause of action’”, the bench held.
The Supreme Court rejected an identical prayer of the petitioner on January 18, 2019. The 19 criminal cases are pending in the courts of the sub-divisional judicial magistrate and chief judicial magistrate at Dhenkanal, Rourkela, Soro, Nabarangpur, Jajpur, Berhampur, Titilagarh and Sonepur.
As regards the petitioner’s prayer for appearing in these courts in virtual mode, the CJ said,”If such a request is made by him, it would be considered by those respective courts keeping in view that such facilities are available in the District Court Complexes and other subordinate courts.”