Supreme Court rejects Centre's plea on private complaints in Companies Act fraud cases

New Delhi: The apex court on Monday rejected the Centre's plea seeking a review of its January ruling that special courts cannot take cognisance of private complaints in fraud cases filed under the Companies Act.

A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, however, gave the Centre liberty to invoke its powers under the Companies Act and authorise any officer to file the complaint in such cases.

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On January 9, the Supreme Court held that in cases under Section 447 (which deals with fraud) of the Companies Act, the complaint must be made by the director of the Serious Fraud Investigation Office or an officer authorised by the government. "This adds a further level of scrutiny and investigation prior to taking cognisance in cases where allegations of fraud are made and ensures that cognisance is not taken by the special court simply upon filing of a private complaint," it had held.

The court said Section 448, which concerns false statements, could not be read in isolation since the punishment prescribed for the offence is linked to Section 447. The issue was related to a private complaint filed against former directors of Shreemukh Namitha Homes.

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The complaint alleged that one of the former directors convened an extraordinary general meeting of the company in 2021 without authority, appointed third parties as directors, fabricated board and shareholder resolutions, and made statutory filings along with other forged and false documents on the website of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.