GST Evasion via Selling Fake Lottery Tickets and Forgery: Gauhati HC refuses to Quash Second FIR [Read Order]
Since the Director of Nagaland Lotteries had his own unique grievance, the Court ruled that stopping the investigation now would be a "miscarriage of justice."
The Gauhati High Court, in its recent ruling, refused to quash a second FIR with regards to huge financial fraud committed through selling fake lottery tickets which evaded GST ( Goods and Services Tax ).
The petition was filed by Atul Bokriya and several others who were already facing legal proceedings in Kolkata for similar allegations.
They approached the High Court to quash a new FIR filed at the Kohima North Police Station in Nagaland, claiming it was just "malicious harassment" and a duplicate of the West Bengal case. They argued that they should not be prosecuted twice for the same broad set of events.
However, the State of Nagaland painted a much more specific and serious picture. They pointed out that this was not just "more of the same."
In the Kohima case, the accused allegedly forged the official logo and the actual signature of the Director of Nagaland State Lotteries to churn out fake tickets. This did not just scam the public; it directly hit the state’s pocket through unpaid GST and TDS. The Director himself filed the complaint, making him a direct victim of the forgery.
Justice Yarenjungla Longkumer weighed these arguments using what the law calls the "test of sameness."
The judge noted that while the Kolkata case dealt with the general lottery operation, the Kohima FIR revealed unique crimes like the theft of confidential government records and the specific forgery of state documents.
Leaning on Supreme Court precedents, the Court explained that a second FIR is legal if it reveals a different version of events, a bigger conspiracy, or distinct crimes that hurt different victims.
Since the Director of Nagaland Lotteries had his own unique grievance, the Court ruled that stopping the investigation now would be a "miscarriage of justice."
The High Court's dismissal of the petition has made it possible for the Nagaland government proceedings to proceed, guaranteeing that the accusations of tax evasion and forgery will have a fair trial.
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