A Delhi court has upheld the order of a magisterial court directing lodging of an FIR against some employees of Delhi University's Hans Raj College for alleged financial irregularities of around Rs 15 lakh of its Thrift and Credit Society.
The court said the allegations made in the complaint, by two office bearers of the college's Society, were serious in nature and would require a field investigation and custodial interrogation which can be done only by the police.
"... In view of the clear-cut extra-judicial confession/ admissions of the petitioner (accused) and the fact that he himself has admitted committing the falsification of accounts and misappropriation of the funds of the Thrift and Credit and Society, it is also alleged in the complaint that there is falsification of records of the Society for various years.
"In these circumstances, I am of the considered opinion that a field investigation is required to be conducted by the police as the said evidence cannot be collected by the complainant for which even custodial interrogation of the petitioner would be required to find out the true scope of financial bungling/ irregularities committed by him in the said Thrift and Credit Society while working as a clerk for a long time," Special Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal said.
The court said the magisterial court's March 2016 order, challenged by the Society's Treasurer, does not suffer from any infirmity or illegality.
"Allegations made in the complaint discloses commission of various cognizable offences which are serious in nature, which would require a field investigation as well as custodial interrogation, which can only be done by police, as the same cannot be done by the complainant himself, as police is equipped to do so, by carrying out scientific investigation," it said.
The court said there was no merit in the present revision petition and dismissed it.
A complaint was filed in the court by the President and the Secretary of the Society seeking lodging of an FIR against some other office bearers on the allegation that there were several financial irregularities in the accounts.
The plea said that on scrutiny of the record, it was
found that accused no. 1 (college clerk and the Society's Treasurer) showed more deductions of loan in the Society's account but practically there was less deduction.
The total figure of cheating by alleged manipulation of accounts was around Rs 15 lakh, it claimed.
The plea alleged that a meeting was called to take action against the accused persons in which the Treasurer got settlement done in the absence of the Society's President.
The Treasurer allegedly admitted his offence in September 2014 that he had committed cheating and fraud in the Society and gave resignation letter which was not accepted.
The Treasurer had challenged the trial court's order on the ground that it was passed without application of mind and without considering the fact that the managing committee of the Society had already written to the College Principal that they do not want any action against him.
The revision petition said the magistrate had ignored the report of Maurice Nagar Police Station exonerating him after a probe and also claimed there was no financial irregularity.
