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 the 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 the 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 complainant alleged that the Applicant, using his position and access to non-public information regarding large trades of Axis Mutual Fund, engaged in front-running by transmitting such information to co-accused who placed advance orders and subsequently sold shares at a profit, thereby causing loss to approximately 66 lakh investors amounting to over Rs. 2.52 lakh crore.

The Applicant contended that the alleged offence of front-running is exclusively regulated under the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 and that prosecution could only be initiated by SEBI or its authorised officers under section 26 of the SEBI Act, not by a private complainant. It was further argued that the ingredients of the IPC offences were not made out and that the SEBI Act, being a special law, must prevail. The Applicant also relied upon an affidavit filed by Respondent No. 2 dated 3rd October 2025 consenting to quashing on the ground that the FIR was filed under a misunderstanding.

The Directorate of Enforcement intervened through Interim Application No. 4642 of 2025, and a third party filed Interim Application No. 4102 of 2025. The judgment addresses the interplay between the special provisions of the SEBI Act and the general criminal law under the IPC with respect to the cognizability and prosecutability of front-running offences by private complainants.

Catchwords: front running · quashing of FIR · SEBI Act · special law · non-public information · mutual fund · chief dealer · insider trading · Economic Offences Wing · consent of complainant · Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita · cognizance · private complaint