Thursday, July 11, 2019

CASE FILES ‘DISAPPEAR’

HC orders CBI probe into ₹20cr loan fraud

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:11.07.2019

The Madras high court has ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe a ₹20.69 crore loan scam at the Kancheepuram Central Cooperative Bank.

Passing the order on an appeal moved by T K Balu, a retired employee of the bank, a division bench of Justice M M Sundresh and M Nirmal Kumar said, “It is a fit case where the CBI will have to be directed to conduct further investigation.”

According to Balu, there had been three complaints of misappropriation and embezzlement of ₹20.69 crore pertaining to jewel loans availed in the bank’s Pallavaram and Porur branches. Investigation pertaining to the cases in Pallavaram branch was closed on flimsy grounds, the petitioner said. It was claimed that records pertaining to other cases were destroyed in a fire and in the December 2015 flood.

Challenging the closure of the investigation, Balu moved the Madras high court, where a single judge dismissed the petition citing a ruling of the Supreme Court that cautioned courts conferred with powers by Articles 32 and 226 of the Constitution to bear in mind certain self-imposed limitations and not to pass orders directing transfer of investigation in every case to the CBI as a matter of routine.

Aggrieved, Balu preferred the present appeal. When the plea came up for hearing, the bench said that the Supreme Court had also held that in exceptional situations, the extraordinary power of transferring a case to the CBI can be passed sparingly and cautiously, to instil confidence in the minds of the litigants.

“It had also held that an order directing an inquiry by the CBI should be passed only when the high court, after considering the material on record, comes to a conclusion that such material does disclose a prima facie case calling for an investigation by the CBI or any other similar agency,” the bench added.

Noting that the facts of this case would certainly come within the parameters described by the apex court and that the order of the single judge requires interference at the hands of this court, the bench set aside the single judge order and ordered the CBI probe.

No comments:

Post a Comment

NEWS TODAY 14,11,2024