Bhubaneswar, July 15 -- Observing that courts are not expected to act as "a mere post office for the prosecution" and must independently determine whether the material on record discloses the ingredients of the alleged offences before putting an accused on trial, the Orissa High Court has discharged former director of a real estate and construction firm in a decade-old chit fund scam case.
Justice Dr. Sanjeeb K. Panigrahi held that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case of cheating or criminal conspiracy against Indrajit De, who was booked under Sections 420, 120-B and 34 of the IPC and Sections 4, 5 and 6 of the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act.
The court noted that De was neither named in the o...