₹58 Crore SIES Trust Cheating Case: Missing FIR Delays Trial, Hearing Adjourned To August 8
· Free Press Journal
Mumbai, June 26: Hearing in the 2014 case relating to the alleged cheating of the South Indian Education Society (SIES) Trust to the tune of Rs 58 crore has been further delayed as the court hearing the matter is vacant. While the issue of the missing original FIR remains unresolved, the case has now been adjourned to August 8.
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The original First Information Report (FIR) mysteriously went missing from the court records in February last year when the court was recording the testimony of the first witness, Ganesh Shankaran, one of the trustees. Even after repeated notices to the investigating officer, the report has still not been submitted, because of which the trial could not proceed.
Missing FIR Stalls Trial
The court had, on April 4, issued a fresh notice to the investigating officer, seeking an explanation and details of further steps taken to trace the missing FIR. The case was thereafter adjourned to June 25. On Thursday, when the case was scheduled for hearing, the court was vacant. Hence, the case has now been further adjourned to August 8.
In July 2014, the trust noticed that funds to the tune of Rs 58 crore kept in fixed deposits had been siphoned off and subsequently diverted to other accounts. This revelation led the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Crime Branch to a group that had allegedly cheated several other trusts and institutions.
After eight years of the case being registered, the trial finally began on June 20, 2022, when the court examined its first witness, Shankaran. However, even on that day, the recording of Shankaran's testimony did not conclude and remained pending for three years.
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Finally, when the prosecution resumed the examination of Shankaran on February 14, 2025, the court noticed that the original FIR was not on record. Hence, the case was adjourned to March 13, 2025, with a direction to the prosecution to locate it.
When the case came up for hearing on March 13, 2025, the public prosecutor was not available. The court then issued a notice to the investigating officer for the documents.
Since March 13, 2025, the magistrate's court has issued several notices to the investigating officer to submit a report on the missing FIR, but it has not been submitted.
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