New Delhi, June 17 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to entertain a writ petition filed by a man accused in multiple cyber fraud cases seeking consolidation of FIRs registered in different states, with Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant making strong oral remarks against cyber criminals, describing them as “parasites” who prey on innocent investors.
A Bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice V. Mohana dismissed the petition filed by a Bihar-based man under Article 32 of the Constitution, observing that no case for interference was made out and granting him liberty to approach the jurisdictional High Courts for appropriate relief.
During the hearing, the CJI-headed Bench came down heavily on cyber fraudsters, observing that they operate across state boundaries and target unsuspecting investors nationwide.
“You people (cyber criminals) are parasites, and you take money from innocent investors and dupe them. For cyber criminals, we have to be very harsh,” the apex court orally remarked.
“You cheat someone in Tamil Nadu, then you go to Jammu and Kashmir and then to the North-East,” the bench observed, adding that it would be in society’s interest that such offenders remain behind bars.
The petitioner sought clubbing of FIRs registered in Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, and subsequently Karnataka, contending that all cases arose from the same alleged cyber fraud transactions routed through an ICICI Bank account opened in the name of Ms Ananya Engineering and Trading Ltd. The plea claimed that he was merely a matriculate with no knowledge of share trading and had been induced by Sanjay Singh, who allegedly introduced himself as an investment expert, to open the bank account.
He contended that the account was subsequently used by third parties without his knowledge and that he neither operated it nor derived any benefit from the alleged fraudulent transactions.
Seeking consolidation of the FIRs, the petitioner relied on Supreme Court precedents dealing with multiple FIRs arising from the same transaction and argued that separate investigations in different states exposed him to coercive action and repeated appearances before investigating agencies. However, the apex court declined to exercise its writ jurisdiction and left it open for him to seek remedies before the competent High Courts.
“No case to entertain the writ petition has been made out. The writ petition is accordingly dismissed,” the order stated, adding that “the petitioner, if so advised, may approach the jurisdictional High Court(s) for necessary relief(s)”.
Advocates Anil Nag, Satyam Shekhar, Abhik Chandra and Adnan appeared on behalf of the petitioner. Notably, CJI Surya Kant’s reference to “parasites” came weeks after he had clarified in a separate matter that his earlier use of the term was directed only at individuals who enter professions using fake or bogus degrees and not at the youth of the country. He had said Indian youth were the “pillars of a developed India” and enjoyed his deep respect and admiration.
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