Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court has ordered that the investigation being conducted by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (UP STF) against former member of legislative council Haji Iqbal alias Bala in an alleged Rs 6.33 crore real estate fraud be transferred to the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO).A division bench of Justice Chandra Dhari Singh and Justice Lakshmi Kant Shukla held that once a largescale corporate fraud is already under SFIO scrutiny, a parallel probe by state police into the same corporate network and modus operandi should be avoided. The court said multiple investigations into what is essentially a single scheme could lead to fragmentation, conflicting findings and could undermine the integrity of the criminal process.While the court declined to quash the FIR, calling it an exceptional remedy, it disposed of the writ petition by directing that the investigation against Iqbal proceed under the SFIO to ensure a single, specialised and comprehensive probe.The bench clarified that an individual investor’s grievance must still be investigated if that specific transaction has not been examined by the SFIO, but such inquiry should, where appropriate, continue through further investigation by the SFIO rather than through another agency.The case stems from a 2023 complaint by Naved Ahmad, who alleged that between Dec 2013 and Mar 2014, he transferred Rs 6.33 crore to Enchant Infrastructure Pvt Ltd for development of a real estate plot in Greater Noida. He alleged no construction was undertaken and the company defaulted on instalments to the Greater Noida Authority, leading to cancellation of the allotment in Aug 2022. The authority cited dues of about Rs 29 crore, against which about Rs 4.5 crore had been paid.The court noted that the SFIO had already investigated the broader fraud involving Iqbal and a network of shell companies, and that the present FIR and the company named in it were part of the same network. The SFIO probe was initiated after a 2015 Supreme Court matter, and the SFIO later filed a complaint before the Special Judge at Dwarka Court, New Delhi. The SFIO complaint alleged Rs 610.3 crore was routed through 84 entities to acquire assets and channel funds to Iqbal-linked trusts.In its July 16 judgement, the high court also cited Section 212(2) of the Companies Act, 2013, saying that once the central govt assigns a case to the SFIO, no other agency should proceed further and relevant material must stand transferred.
