Mumbai SIES Trust Rs 58 Crore Cheating Trial Delayed Due to Missing FIR and Vacant Court

The trial into the alleged Rs 58 crore cheating of the South Indian Education Society (SIES) Trust in Mumbai has been delayed further after the court hearing the matter was found vacant and the original First Information Report (FIR) remains missing. The hearing, which was scheduled for June 25, has now been adjourned to August 8.

The case dates back to July 2014, when the SIES Trust discovered that funds to the tune of Rs 58 crore kept in fixed deposits had been siphoned off. The money was subsequently diverted to other accounts. This revelation led the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Crime Branch to investigate 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. On that day, the court examined its first witness, Ganesh Shankaran, who is a trustee of the SIES Trust. However, the recording of Shankaran's testimony did not conclude and remained pending.

When the prosecution resumed the examination of Shankaran on February 14, 2025, the court noticed that the original FIR was missing from the records. The case was then adjourned to March 13, 2025, with a direction to the prosecution to locate the document.

On March 13, 2025, the public prosecutor was not available. The court then issued a notice to the investigating officer for the missing documents. Since then, 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.

The court issued a fresh notice on April 4, seeking an explanation and details of further steps taken to trace the missing FIR. The case was thereafter adjourned to June 25.

On June 25, when the case was scheduled for hearing, the court was vacant. As a result, the trial could not proceed, and the hearing has been further adjourned to August 8.