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2023 DIGILAW 329 (JK)

Vikram Bhardwaj v. State Of J&K

2023-08-02

SANJAY DHAR

body2023
JUDGMENT : 1) The petitioner has invoked the extraordinary writ jurisdiction of this Court with the following prayers: a) Issue a Writ of Mandamus commanding the respondents more particularly respondent No.1 and 2 to constitute a Special Investigation Team to be headed by a police officer not below the rank of Dy. Inspector General of Police to carry on and monitor the investigation of the case FIR No.69/2019 registered at Police Station Anantnag dated 13.05.2019 under Sections 420, 467 and 468 of RPC. In the alternative directions are sought for handing over the investigation of the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) New Delhi in view of the seriousness of the offence and the expertise available with them for conducting such investigations. b) Issue a Writ of Mandamus commanding the respondents to expedite the probe and conclude the investigation of the case registered pursuant to the FIR supra and consequently update this Court about the stage of investigation and the material evidence collected so far along with the relevant record of the case. 2) As per case of the petitioner, he is a reputed businessman running a company M/S Topline Buildtech Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi. It has been submitted that during the course of his business activities, the petitioner came to know about the institution of a complaint under Section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act in respect of a cheque bearing No. 997645 dated 21.08.2018 amounting to Rs.75.00 lacs, that was instituted before the Court of Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class (Mobile Magistrate) Anantnag. The complaint was lodged against the petitioner by one Ms. Sania Fayaz, attorney holder of one Pankaj Jain. It is submitted that the petitioner did have certain business transactions with said Pankaj Jain but the cheque in question had been stolen way back in the year 2014, as a consequence whereof, he had lodged a report with the police on 1st October 2014, and the same was converted into formal FIR bearing No.0732 dated 12th of November 2018. The petitioner is stated to have challenged the proceedings initiated against him in respect of the aforesaid cheque by way of a petition under Section 561-A of J&K Cr. P. C bearing CRMC No.479/2018. The petitioner is stated to have challenged the proceedings initiated against him in respect of the aforesaid cheque by way of a petition under Section 561-A of J&K Cr. P. C bearing CRMC No.479/2018. 3) According to the petitioner, while defending the aforesaid case, he came to know that a number of cases have been filed against non-state subjects at the hands of some locals operating in Anantnag, Kulgam and Qazigund and in most of the cases, complaints have been preferred by attorney holders acting for and on behalf of a fraudulent company known as “Host Finance & Investments Pvt. Ltd.” It has been submitted that in most of these cases, the complainants are Ms. Sania Fayaz and Ms. Lubna Bashir. It has been submitted that upon enquiries, the petitioner came to know that the aforenamed two persons were working in tandem on the instructions of Pankaj Jain, Director of the company M/S Host Finance. It was also learnt by the petitioner that these persons work as a team in various districts of Kashmir Valley and target well settled businessmen of the Country by instituting fake, false and fictitious complaints so as to extort money from the businessmen by taking advantage of the security situation in Kashmir valley, particularly in South Kashmir. The petitioner is stated to have lodged a complaint in this regard with respondent No. 3-Inspector General of Police, Kashmir Zone, a copy whereof has been annexed to the petition. A criminal complaint was also filed by the petitioner before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Srinagar, that was transferred to the Court of Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class (3rd Additional Munsiff), Srinagar, that is stated to be pending adjudication. 4) On the directions of respondent No.3, FIR No.69/2019 stands registered at Police Station, Anantnag, for offences under Section 420, 467 and 468 of RPC and the investigation was entrusted to the Special Investigation Team headed by Deputy Superintendent of Police. It has been submitted by the petitioner that during investigation of the case it has come to the fore that a well-knit racket is being run in the State of Jammu and Kashmir, particularly in South Kashmir which has the patronage of high-level police officers and other officers of the state including the politicians. It has been submitted by the petitioner that during investigation of the case it has come to the fore that a well-knit racket is being run in the State of Jammu and Kashmir, particularly in South Kashmir which has the patronage of high-level police officers and other officers of the state including the politicians. According to the petitioner the said racket is being run by Pankaj Jain and his agents namely, Ajay Agarwal, Lubna Bashir and Sania Fayaz, who claim to be the office bearers of the company owned by Pankaj Jain, namely, M/S Host Finance and Investment Pvt. Ltd. It has been alleged that the above named persons in connivance with local lawyers and law enforcing agencies managed to obtain orders from the courts by filing fake and fictitious cases in order to reap the benefits by resorting to extortion by targeting non-local businessmen compelling them to go for out of court settlements. 5) The petitioner has submitted that the SIT has not done its job properly and the case has not been investigated in a manner warranted under law. It has been submitted that respondents are not acting fairly and they are acting under the influence of high-level officers involved in the scam and are trying to hush up the investigation to shield the culprits. On these grounds it has been submitted that the investigation of the case be handed over to a Special Investigation Team headed by an officer not below the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police. It has been submitted that the pace of investigation is going on very slowly and despite approaching high ranking officers, no fruitful result has emanated. It has been submitted that alternatively the case should be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation for the purpose of investigation. 6) A series of status reports have been filed by investigating agency pursuant to the directions passed by this Court from time to time. It appears that initially investigation of FIR No.69/2019 of Police Station, Anantnag, was conducted by Special Investigation Team headed by Dy.SP Headquarters Anantnag. The report submitted by SSP, Anantnag on 01-08-2019 concludes as under: That the accused number one, namely Ajay Kumar Agarwal is involved in the offences of cheating U/S 420 RPC on the basis evidences collected by SIT headed by DY.Sp HQR, Anantnag during the course of investigation. The report submitted by SSP, Anantnag on 01-08-2019 concludes as under: That the accused number one, namely Ajay Kumar Agarwal is involved in the offences of cheating U/S 420 RPC on the basis evidences collected by SIT headed by DY.Sp HQR, Anantnag during the course of investigation. The accused has been granted interim bail by the Hon’ble Court of JIMC, Anantnag. That on the basis of investigation so far carried out by SIT, evidence against Pankaj Jain in the Supra mentioned case is still being collected. In this regard, the expert opinion from FSL Srinagar is expected soon and the certified copies of alleged fake complaints have not been received so far. That the alleged accused namely Saniya Fayaz is alleged to have filed frivolous complaints in different courts on the directions of accused number one. The investigation carried out by SIT so far in this respect is subject to outcome of such complaints in the Hon’ble courts. The SIT has applied for their certified copies which shall be received. The investigation is also underway in that regard. The investigation of the case FIR No. 69/2019 U/S 420 RPC, of P/S Anantnag is in force. The final conclusion of the case will be drawn only after collection of evidence as stated above. 7) A subsequent report was filed by SSP Anantnag on 22-02-2023 in terms of order dated 14-12-2022 passed by this Court. In the said report, it has been submitted that representation dated 15-03-2019 was received from the petitioner by IGP, Kashmir, and on the basis of this representation and in terms of communication dated 18-03-2019, issued by IGP, Kashmir, FIR No.69/2019 came to be registered. It has been further submitted that during investigation, it has surfaced that the issuance of non-bailable warrant by Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class, Qazigund, is a genuine document and in order to execute the same, a team of police personnel comprising SI Suhail Mushtaq and Sg.Ct Mohammad Yaseen, was deputed for its execution to Delhi. It has been further submitted that the allegations with regard to demand or payment of money to police party could not be established during investigation. It has been further submitted that the allegations with regard to demand or payment of money to police party could not be established during investigation. It has been further submitted that during investigation of the case and after recording the statements of the witnesses including the statement of the petitioner, offence under Section 420 RPC was found established against Ajay Kumar Agarwal and Pankaj Jain and challan has been laid before the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Anantnag, on 14-09-2021 against these persons. The report goes on to submit that the petitioner again approached the DIG, Anantnag, for re-investigation of the case and on the instructions of the DIG, a SIT headed by Dy.SP Headquarter, Anantnag, was constituted vide order dated 13-02-2022 and further investigation of the case in terms of Section 173(8) of Cr.P.C was commenced. During further investigation of the case, the investigation in terms of PHQ order dated 12-05-2022 was transferred to Crime Branch, Kashmir. 8) Economic Offences Wing of Crime Branch, Kashmir, has filed latest report dated 11th April, 2023. The concluding part thereof is reproduced under:- In view of the above it transpired that commission of offences U/s 209 RPC has been found made against accused persons r/w offences U?s 420, 384/511 RPC which are interlinked with court proceedings. The investigation has further revealed that there is a legal impediment for carrying out further investigation, which in absence of written order/direction from the Hon’ble Court where these false complaints were filed cannot sustain judicial determination and is not legally sound. No such order/direction was sought from the Hon’ble Court before lodging of FIR or even during the investigation or prior to filing of charge sheet before CJM Anantnag. The further investigation was conducted U/s 420 RPC and it is during the course of investigation it has revealed that actually a case U/s 209 RPC, 384, 420/511 RPC should have been registered after obtaining proper order form the competent authority. The commission of offences U/s 209 RPC has surfaced which requires complaint U?s 195 (1) (b) CRPC from the Hon’ble competent court and thus there is a legal impediment to proceed further into the matter. The commission of offences U/s 209 RPC has surfaced which requires complaint U?s 195 (1) (b) CRPC from the Hon’ble competent court and thus there is a legal impediment to proceed further into the matter. Further the investigation has also revealed that all these complaints were lodged before the various Hon’ble Courts of District Kulgam and investigation cannot be clubbed with the instant case in view of jurisdiction and also a separate case has been registered in P/s Kulgam in similar allegations under No. 86/2022 of P/s Kulgam. So far as the negligent and carelessness of Police officers/Officials is concerned, who have been found to have executed non-bailable warrant against Vikram Bardawaj, recommendations for initiating departmental action has been made. Keeping in view the above, the further investigation into the matter has been closed in respect of case FIR No. 69/2019 P/s Anantnag and allegation with regard to District Kulgam cannot be investigation in the present case as separate FIR has been registered in Police Station Kulgam. Accordingly, a report into the matter has been filed before the Hon’ble Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Anantnag. 9) I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record of the case including the Case Diaries. 10) Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner has contended that witnesses to the 40 fake cases filed before various courts of South Kashmir have not been made as accused and no investigation has been conducted by the investigating agency in this regard. It has been further submitted that no Police Officer or Judicial Officer has been arraigned as accused in the case. It has been contended that the investigation as regards the presence of private persons accompanying the police team to the residence of the petitioner has not been conducted and no action has been taken against the police officials who had gone to execute the warrant against the petitioner. According to the learned counsel, the role of the lawyers has not been investigated and the police has not investigated as to how non-bailable warrants came to be issued by Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class, Qazigund, against the petitioner. According to the learned counsel, the role of the lawyers has not been investigated and the police has not investigated as to how non-bailable warrants came to be issued by Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class, Qazigund, against the petitioner. It has been submitted that the investigation conducted so far reveals that there is an organized extortion racket of filing false complaints which involves the members of criminal justice administration and this is a ground good enough to handover the investigation of the case to an outside agency like Central Bureau of Investigation. It has been submitted that the investigating agency has misread the provisions of Section 195(1) of Cr.P.C to scuttle the investigation and declare further investigation untenable. 11) If we have a look at the final status report filed by Economic Offences Wing of Crime Branch and the Case Diaries produced by the official respondents, it comes to the fore that it is not a case where the investigating agencies have just brushed the allegations levelled by the petitioner under the carpet but it is a case where most of the allegations made by the petitioner in his representation to IGP, Kashmir, have been investigated by different investigating agencies including the Economic Offences Wing of Crime Branch, Srinagar. 12) The record shows that the investigating agency after registration of FIR bearing No.69/2019 of Police Station, Anantnag, immediately, upon receipt of representation from the petitioner, swung into action and formed a Special Investigation Team headed by Dy. SP. It was revealed during investigation that accused Ajay Agarwal, a resident of Calcutta, established an office under the name and style of Sri Balmukand Polyplast Private Limited branch K.P. Road, Anantnag. He selected local employees which included Shanu Mushtaq, Amir Nisar Choda, Saniya Fayaz, Shaziya Akhter, Tajamul Ahmad, Zahoor Ahmad, Moin-ul-Bashir, Lubna Bashir and Tanveera Mushtaq. These employees prepared and signed the documents whereby fake and false civil suits/complaints were filed before various courts of South Kashmir, under the directions of accused Ajay Kumar Agarwal. The investigation further revealed that the said accused exploited these employees for instituting false complaints. Some of these employees approached the local police and revealed the deceitful activities of accused Ajay Kumar Agarwal. The investigating agency has scrutinized the transactions in the bank accounts of some of these employees and found no monetary transactions between them and the defendants/non-complainants. The investigation further revealed that the said accused exploited these employees for instituting false complaints. Some of these employees approached the local police and revealed the deceitful activities of accused Ajay Kumar Agarwal. The investigating agency has scrutinized the transactions in the bank accounts of some of these employees and found no monetary transactions between them and the defendants/non-complainants. It has been found during investigation that these civil suits/complaints were later on withdrawn by plaintiffs/complainants on the directions of Ajay Agarwal within the period of 2/3 months. The investigation revealed that a huge amount has been found transferred/credited to the account of Saniya Fayaz who has actually lured other employees to file fake cases in different courts. The investigation reveals that Saniya Fayaz was functioning as an office clerk and was in close contact with Ajay Kumar Agarwal and played an important role in filing fake cases against various local and non-local persons. 13) Regarding filing of complaint under Section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act against the petitioner, the case has already been proved against Ajay Kumar Agarwal and Pankaj Jain and the challan has been filed before Chief Judicial Magistrate, Anantnag. As many as 40 false cases are stated to have been filed against various persons and most of these cases have been filed by Saniya Fayaz, Shanu Mushtaq and Amir Nisar Choda. 14) Regarding role of the police, it has been submitted that on the complaint filed by Lubna Bashir, against the petitioner and two more persons the Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class, Qazigund, had issued non-bailable warrants against the petitioner, Harish J. Darmani and Anil Pal and, accordingly, District Police, Kulgam, deputed SI Suhail Mushtaq and Sgct. Mohammad Yaseen for execution of the said warrant pursuant to movement order issued from the office of DIG, SKR, Anantnag. It has been found that no other warrant has been issued by any other court. The investigating agency has found that the police party had arrested the petitioner on the basis of the non-bailable warrant issued by Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class, Qazigund but later on he was set free after some time by the policemen on their own. One Mudasir Ahmad Baba was accompanying the police party but the allegations of demand of bribe or extortion from the petitioner by the police personnel have not been substantiated during investigation of the case. One Mudasir Ahmad Baba was accompanying the police party but the allegations of demand of bribe or extortion from the petitioner by the police personnel have not been substantiated during investigation of the case. 15) The report shows that there was some business transaction between accused Pankaj Jain and petitioner Vikram Bhardwaj and certain allegations were made by Pankaj Jain against the petitioner which could not be substantiated as there was no transaction found between petitioner and Sri Balmukand Polyplast Pvt. Ltd. The investigation has revealed that there was no role of Pankaj Jain in lodging of the complaints other than the one under Section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act before Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class, Anantnag. The investigating agency has also recorded statements of available persons at Delhi and Mumbai against whom false complaints have been filed in various courts but no evidence of extortion has surfaced. It has been found that no police party from UT of J&K has ever approached them with regard to the execution of warrants/summons but it has been found that all the cases filed against these persons by the employees of Sri Balmukand Polyplast Pvt. Ltd are false and baseless. The investigating agency has found that these false complaints and cases have been filed at the behest of Ajay Kumar Agarwal with the intention of extortion from non-locals but the same was not possible because of the complaint made by the petitioner and it is because of this that all these false cases/complaints have been withdrawn before the various courts. 16) As per the report, the investigation conducted has revealed that all the ingredients of the offence under Section 420 RPC were not completed as no wrongful loss or wrongful gain was caused but it was only an attempt to commit cheating. The investigating agency has also found that offence under Section 209 RPC is established and that some police officials have remained callous in executing the warrants issued by JMIC, Qazigund, for which a regular departmental enquiry has been initiated against them. It has been submitted that another FIR has been lodged by SSP, Kulgam, with regard to the complaints lodged in District Kulgam. It has been submitted that another FIR has been lodged by SSP, Kulgam, with regard to the complaints lodged in District Kulgam. 17) It has been submitted that it is established that accused Ajay Agarwal has filed complaints before various courts through his employees with the intention to cheat and extort money from non-locals and investigation has revealed commission of offences under Section 420, 384, 511 and 209 of RPC. However, there is no evidence against accused Pankaj Jain in filing of these cases. The investigating agency has, however, not proceeded further in the matter in view of the observations made by the Crime Headquarters which relate to the taking of cognizance for offence under Section 209 of RPC in the light of Section 195(1)(b) of Cr. P. C. 18) From the above, it is clear that the report does reveal that during further investigation of the case, certain other offences have been established against the persons other than those who have been already booked but due to the observations of the Crime Headquarter, the investigation has been left midway. The observation of the Crime Headquarter that because for taking cognizance of offence under Section 209 RPC, the procedure prescribed under Section 195 and 340 of the Cr.P.C is to be followed, as such, the investigation should not be conducted any further, appears to be legally not tenable. In this regard the provisions contained in Section 195 of the J&K Cr.P.C are required to be noticed. It reads as under: 195. In this regard the provisions contained in Section 195 of the J&K Cr.P.C are required to be noticed. It reads as under: 195. (1) No Court shall take cognizance— (a) Prosecution for contempt of lawful authority of public servants.— Of any offence punishable under sections 172 to 188 of the Ranbir Penal Code, except on a complaint in writing of public servant concerned, or of some other public servant to whom he is subordinate; (b) Prosecution for certain offences against public justice.—Of any offence punishable under any of the following sections of the same Code, namely, sections 193, 194, 195, 196, 199, 200, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211 and 228 when such offence is alleged to have been committed in, or in relation to, any proceeding in any Court, except on the complaint in writing of that court or by such officer of the court as that court may authorise in writing in this behalf, or of some other court to which that court is subordinate; or (c) Prosecution for certain offences relating to documents given in evidence.—Of any offence described in section 463 or punishable under section 471, section 475 or section 476 of the same Code, when such offence is alleged to have been committed by a party to any proceeding in any Court in respect of document produced or given in evidence in such proceeding, except on the complaint in writing of such Court, or of some other Court to which such Court is subordinate. (2) In clauses (b) and (c) of sub-section (1), the term “Court” includes a civil, revenue or criminal Court, but does not include a Registrar or Sub-Registrar under the Registration Act, 1977. (2) In clauses (b) and (c) of sub-section (1), the term “Court” includes a civil, revenue or criminal Court, but does not include a Registrar or Sub-Registrar under the Registration Act, 1977. (3) For the purposes of this section, a Court shall be deemed to be subordinate to the Court to which appeals ordinarily lie from the appealable decrees or sentences of such former Court, or in the case of a Civil Court from whose decrees no appeal ordinarily lies, to the principal Court having ordinary original Civil jurisdiction within the local limits of whose jurisdiction such Civil Court is situate: Provided that,— (a) where appeals lie to more than one Court, the Appellate Court of inferior jurisdiction shall be the Court to which such Court shall be deemed to be subordinate; and (b) where appeals lie to a civil and also to a revenue Court, such Court shall be deemed to be subordinate to the civil or revenue Court according to the nature of the case or proceeding in connection with which the offence is alleged to have been committed. (4) The provisions of sub-section (1), with reference to the offences named therein, apply also to criminal conspiracies to commit such offences and to the abetment of such officers, and attempts to commit them. (5) Where a complaint has been made under sub-section (I), clause (a) by public servant, any authority to which such public servant is subordinate may order the withdrawal of the complaint and, if it does so, it shall forward a copy of such order to the Court and, upon receipt thereof by the Court, no further proceedings shall be taken on the complaint. 19) From a perusal of the aforesaid provision, it is clear that a Court is barred from taking cognizance of any offence punishable under Section 209 of the RPC except on the complaint in writing of that Court or an authorized officer of the concerned Court. 20) In the instant case, only the investigation is underway. The stage of cognizance would come when the charge sheet is filed before the Court. What is prohibited by Section 195 of Cr.P.C is taking of cognizance and not undertaking the investigation. A similar question arose before the Supreme Court in the case of State of Punjab vs Raj Singh and anr, (1998)2 SCC 391 . The stage of cognizance would come when the charge sheet is filed before the Court. What is prohibited by Section 195 of Cr.P.C is taking of cognizance and not undertaking the investigation. A similar question arose before the Supreme Court in the case of State of Punjab vs Raj Singh and anr, (1998)2 SCC 391 . While dealing with this question, the Supreme Court observed as under: 2. We are unable to sustain the impugned order of the High Court quashing the FIR lodged against the respondents alleging commission of offences under Sections 419, 420, 467 and 468 IPC by them in course of the proceeding of a civil suit, on the ground that Section 195(1)(b)(ii) CrPC prohibited entertainment of and investigation into the same by the police. From a plain reading of Section 195 CrPC it is manifest that it comes into operation at the stage when the court intends to take cognizance of an offence under Section 190(1) CrPC; and it has nothing to do with the statutory power of the police to investigate into an FIR which discloses a cognizable offence, in accordance with Chapter XII of the Code even if the offence is alleged to have been committed in, or in relation to, any proceeding in court. In other words, the statutory power of the police to investigate under the Code is not in any way controlled or circumscribed by Section 195 CrPC. It is of course true that upon the charge-sheet (challan), if any, filed on completion of the investigation into such an offence the court would not be competent to take cognizance thereof in view of the embargo of Section 195(1)(b) CrPC, but nothing therein deters the court from filing a complaint for the offence on the basis of the FIR (filed by the aggrieved private party) and the materials collected during investigation, provided it forms the requisite opinion and follows the procedure laid down in Section 340 CrPC. The judgment of this Court in Gopalakrishna Menon v. D. Raja, on which the High Court relied, has no manner of application to the facts of the instant case for their cognizance was taken on a private complaint even though the offence of forgery was committed in respect of a money receipt produced in the civil court and hence it was held that the court could not take cognizance on such a complaint in view of Section 195 CrPC. 21) The aforesaid judgment was followed by the Supreme Court in its later judgment in the case of M. Narayandas vs. State of Karnataka and others, (2003) 11 SCC 251 . In view of the aforesaid law laid down by the Supreme Court, it is clear that Sections 195 and 340 of Cr. P. C do not control or circumscribe the power of the police to investigate under the Criminal Procedure Code. Once investigation is completed, then the embargo or bar under Section 195 of Cr.P.C would come into play and in that event, on the basis of charge sheet submitted by the police, the court would not be competent to take cognizance. However, the court concerned could file a complaint taking into account the facts stated in the FIR and the material collected during investigation but before doing so, the court concerned is required to follow the procedure laid under Section 340 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. 22) In view of the above, the observation of the investigating agency that it could not undertake further investigation of the case because the offence under Section 209 of RPC has also been disclosed, is without any substance. It is a fact that offence under Section 209 of RPC is non- cognizable in nature but then a non-cognizable offence can be investigated along with cognizable offences in view of the ratio laid down by the Supreme Court in the case of State vs. Dr. Saleem-ur-Rehman, 2021 SCC Online SC 1014. Therefore, there is no legal or statutory bar for the respondent investigating agency to undertake further investigation of the case even if offence under Section 209 RPC is disclosed during investigation of the case. Saleem-ur-Rehman, 2021 SCC Online SC 1014. Therefore, there is no legal or statutory bar for the respondent investigating agency to undertake further investigation of the case even if offence under Section 209 RPC is disclosed during investigation of the case. 23) Another aspect of the matter which the investigating agency has not adverted itself to is the fact that the complainants/plaintiffs of the cases, particularly those who have actively participated in filing of false cases and have even received consideration in lieu thereof from the main accused, should have been booked as accused in the case, which has not been done. The investigating agency has to look into this aspect of the matter and undertake proper investigation in this regard and book all those persons who have intentionally aided and abetted the main accused in filing of these false cases. 24) So far as role of the police officers/officials is concerned, the investigating agency has thoroughly investigated this aspect of the matter and it has been found that only one non-bailable warrant has been issued by Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class, Qazigund, in a complaint filed against the petitioner. The warrant has been found to be genuine and it has been addressed to the police for its execution. Therefore, it was the duty of the police to execute the warrant without going into the question whether the same has been issued in a false or a genuine case. The police while executing the process of a court is not expected to ascertain merits and veracity of the case in which the process has been issued. The police officials have, under valid orders of the court coupled with the valid permission from the police officer of the rank of DIG, proceeded to Delhi to execute the warrant. Therefore, it cannot be stated that the police officials have exceeded their powers, or that they were in league with the accused. In the cases instituted on the basis of private complaints and plaints, police has no role to play. It is not a case where false FIRs have been filed on the basis of which the petitioner has been harassed. Had it been so, the role of police would have come under scanner. In the cases instituted on the basis of private complaints and plaints, police has no role to play. It is not a case where false FIRs have been filed on the basis of which the petitioner has been harassed. Had it been so, the role of police would have come under scanner. But in the instant case the police has not played any role, directly or indirectly, excepting in one case where it has done its lawful duty of executing the warrant issued by a competent court. Therefore, contention of learned counsel for the petitioner that the role of the police officers/officials also comes under scanner, appears to be without any substance. 25) Similarly, there is no material available on record to even remotely suggest that any judicial officer was involved in the alleged conspiracy of filing false cases. Even otherwise, at least proceedings in two cases are under challenge before this Court. This is clear from the annexures annexed with the writ petition. The role of the judicial officers would come under scrutiny of this Court while deciding those cases on judicial side after examining the record of the trial court. If the situation warrants, appropriate orders would follow in those cases. 26) So far as the role of lawyers in filing of false cases is concerned, the investigating agency appears to have done nothing in that regard and the same is required to be investigated. 27) Learned counsel for the petitioner has vehemently argued that having regard to the lapses in the investigation, the investigation of the case needs to be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation. In this regard it is to be noted that power to transfer investigation is an extraordinary power which is to be used very sparingly and in an exceptional circumstance where the Court on appreciating the facts and circumstances arrives at the conclusion that there is no other option of securing a fair trial without the intervention and investigation by the CBI. I am supported in my aforesaid view by the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Royden Harold Buthello & anr. vs. State of Chhattisgarh & Ors. 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 154. I am supported in my aforesaid view by the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Royden Harold Buthello & anr. vs. State of Chhattisgarh & Ors. 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 154. 28) In the instant case, the investigating agency has done fairly a good job in investigating most of the aspects of the matter and the investigation has already been handed over to a specialized agency like Economic Offences Wing of Crime Branch, Kashmir. No such glaring and exceptional circumstances have been brought to the notice of this Court that would warrant transfer of investigation to any other agency. Therefore, prayer of the learned counsel for the petitioner in this regard merits to be rejected. 29) For the foregoing reasons, the writ petition is disposed of with the following directions: (I) The respondent Economic Offences Wing of Crime Branch, Kashmir, shall undertake further investigation of the case with regard to the role of the complainants/plaintiffs /lawyers who had filed false complaints/cases before various courts and on the basis of the material that may be collected during investigation, appropriate action be taken against those found to be actively involved with the main accused, namely, Ajay Agarwal and Pankaj Jain. (II) The investigation of FIR No.84/2022 of Police Station, Kulgam, be transferred to Economic Offences Wing of Crime Branch, Kashmir, for undertaking investigation in accordance with the law. (III) Investigation as regards offence under Section 209 of RPC be taken to its logical conclusion and if found established, the material collected during investigation be placed before the respective courts for taking further action in the matter in accordance with law.