Sudhirkumar Chandulal Thakkar Vs State of Gujarat & Anr. (Gujarat High Court)
The Gujarat High Court considered an application under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 seeking quashing of FIR C.R. No.11192011210067 of 2021 registered with Bopal Police Station, Ahmedabad, for alleged offences under Sections 406 and 420 of the IPC, Sections 23(e), 23(f), 23(h) and 23(l) of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956, Section 45(H)(A) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1995, and Sections 4 and 5 of the Gujarat Prevention of Gambling Act.
The FIR was registered on 21.01.2021 on the basis of information that Ashishbhai Sureshbhai Davra was allegedly carrying out illegal stock-market trading by way of Dabba trading from a residential premises. During the police raid, he was allegedly found working on a laptop and informed the police that he was engaged in illegal stock-market trading. The applicant contended that he had been falsely implicated and that the proceedings were legally unsustainable, particularly because Section 26 of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act imposed a specific bar against cognizance of offences under that Act except upon a complaint by the specified authorities or persons.
The applicant further submitted that the allegations did not disclose criminal breach of trust and that the lower court could not have taken cognizance of offences under the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act on the basis of a police report. The learned APP opposed the application, submitting that the accused persons were trading in securities without the requisite licence or permission and without entering into a contract with SEBI, and that materials including a laptop, mobile phone and pen drive had been found during the raid.
