Dentons Link Legal is pleased to share a significant ruling of the Delhi High Court in the case of Amit Ranjan & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors., where the Court was pleased to hold that disputes between investors and private cryptocurrency exchanges do not become public law matters merely because a large number of investors are affected.
The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia further held that private cryptocurrency exchanges are not "State" within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution and clarified that the taxation of Virtual Digital Assets under the Finance Act, 2022, does not, by itself, subject such entities to public law scrutiny.
In pursuance, the Court declined to direct a CBI or SIT investigation, observing that claims relating to the release of users' funds and compensation involve disputed questions of fact requiring adjudication before the appropriate forum rather than in writ proceedings. The judgment reaffirmed that civil, criminal, and consumer law remedies remain available to aggrieved investors.
The matter was led by the team comprising Abhinav Sharma (Partner), Dipan Sethi (Principal Associate), and Snehashish Bhattacharya (Associate).
This ruling provides important clarity on the limits of constitutional writ jurisdiction in the cryptocurrency space and underscores that investor grievances against private platforms must be pursued through appropriate adjudicatory fora.