Kohima: The Supreme Court halted proceedings in the Dimapur Mystery Box case. Justices Ujjwal Bhuyan and Atul S. Chandurkar issued the stay on September 30. This stops GR Case No. 739 of 2023 currently before the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Dimapur. The bench set a returnable date for January 12, 2027.
This legal fight involves an alleged Rs 3.5 crore swindle. A senior Nagaland government official claims she was conned into investing in a fake Antique Box. Prosecution records suggest the box never existed. The scheme allegedly grew from a failed school project pitch worth Rs 50 crore. When the official refused to fund that, the suspects pivoted to the box fraud.
Filmmaker Anup Gadal and a pastor face serious accusations. Court documents allege the duo recruited others to pose as a managing director and a Bangladeshi farmer. Prosecutors claim Gadal used his bank account to funnel the stolen cash. The High Court previously upheld the case after Gadal tried to get the FIR quashed.
Gadal argued the case lacked a proper complainant. He pointed out that the actual victim did not file the FIR herself. The High Court tossed this argument out. It noted the victim had signed a, "registered Power of Attorney dated October 23, 2023 authorising the complainant to institute proceedings against filmmaker and the other accused."
Judges rejected claims that this was a civil dispute. They cited a June 28, 2025, chargesheet showing evidence for charges under Sections 420, 403, 406, and 120B of the IPC. The Supreme Court order focuses solely on the stay. It makes no final ruling on the merits of the underlying fraud allegations.
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