RABINDRA KUMAR JENA Vs. REPUBLIC OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Petitioner, accused of commission of offences under Sec. 120-B, 409, 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sec. 4,5 and 6 of the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978 (hereinafter referred as '1978 Act'), has prayed for quashing of the criminal proceeding initiated against him in C.B.I., SPE, EOB-VII, Bhubaneswar Case No.RC.49(S)/2014-Kolkata dtd. 15/6/2014, as well as the charge-sheet dtd. 2/3/2021 indicting him for aforesaid offences in the court of the learned Special Judge, C.B.I.-1, Bhubaneswar and the issuance of process against him.

(2.) The Petitioner was a Member of Parliament elected from Balasore constituency in the State of Odisha.

(3.) Initially, different cases relating to chit fund scam were registered at different local police stations in Odisha against the principal accused Prashant Kumar Dash and Seashore Group of Companies, which were subsequently taken over by the CBI pursuant to direction dtd. 9/5/2014 of the Supreme Court of India passed in W.P.(Civil) No.401 of 2013 and W.P.(Civil) No.413 of 2013. The offences registered against Prashant Kumar Dash and Seashore Group of Companies are under Ss. 420, 468, 471, 406, 467, 417, 418, 422 and 120-B/34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sec. 4,5,6 of the 1978 Act. The allegations against Prashant Kumar Dash and his Seashore Group of Companies are that, they misappropriated huge amounts from general public dishonestly and fraudulently by alluring common public depositors through various schemes with false promise of higher rate of interest. They collected money from general public by way of illegal deposits and duped them without any refund as promised to them.