Viresh Gangaram Joshi vs State Of Maharashtra And Anr

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This judgment disposed of connected matters. The same reasons were delivered in the following case.

Viresh Gangaram Joshi vs State of Maharashtra and Anr

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The Applicant, formerly Chief Dealer of Axis Asset Management Company Limited, filed an application under section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 seeking quashing of FIR No. 0369/2024 registered at Sion Police Station (later transferred to Economic Offences Wing, Mumbai) for offences under sections 406, 417, 420, 465, 467, 468, 477A read with sections 34 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The FIR alleged that the Applicant, in his capacity as Chief Dealer of Axis Mutual Fund, misused non-public information regarding large trade orders and shared the same with co-accused who front-ran those orders, causing losses to approximately 66 lakh investors amounting to over Rs. 2.52 lakh crore.

The Applicant contended that the alleged conduct constituted the offence of 'front running' exclusively regulated under the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992, and that only SEBI or its authorised officers could prosecute such a complaint under section 26 of the SEBI Act. It was further argued that none of the ingredients of the IPC offences alleged were made out, and that the Complainant (Respondent No. 2) had herself filed an affidavit consenting to quashing of the FIR on the ground that it was filed on a misunderstanding. The Enforcement Directorate and one Sandeep Baban Jadhav intervened through separate Interim Applications.

The Court heard submissions from Senior Advocate Mr. S. Nagmuthu for the Applicant, the Additional Public Prosecutor for the State, counsel for the Enforcement Directorate, and counsel for the Interim Application Applicant, and reserved the matter for judgment on 26th February 2026, pronouncing the same on 13th August 2026.

Catchwords: quashing of FIR · front running · SEBI Act · special law · non-public information · mutual fund · chief dealer · insider trading · economic offences · section 528 BNSS · cognizance · complainant's consent