Submit Final Report of S C Sen Commission on Saradha: Court
KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court today directed West Bengal government to submit the final report given by Justice (retd) Shyamal Sen Commission on Saradha chit fund scam probe while expressing dissatisfaction at the interim report placed based on the panel's report.
A division bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice Joymalyo Bagchi directed the state to place the Commission's final report submitted to the government on October 30, 2014.
The bench said that it was not satisfied with the interim report that the state government placed before it today.
It also expressed surprise at the government setting aside a Rs 500 crore corpus for repaying investors even as it had presented a deficit budget for 2013-14.
Government pleader Abhratosh Majumdar submitted that it was part of non-planned expenditure.
The bench had on September 28 directed the state government to produce documents relating to the Justice Shyamal Sen Commission that was set up by it to probe the Saradha chitfund scam and to repay investors.
Acting on a PIL seeking a probe into the undisbursed amount by the Commission as it had been wound up before completing its job, the bench had directed the state to produce all documents before it today.
Petitioner Subir Dey claimed that West Bengal government, after setting up the Commission in April 2013, had earmarked a corpus of Rs 500 crore for repaying investors.
It was, however, wound up in October 2014 without having completed its task and had not been able to disburse all the funds allocated to it, the petitioner claimed.
The petitioner prayed for an order for investigation into the amount left undisbursed.
The Saradha chit fund scam involved nearly Rs 2,500 crore and spanned several states including West Bengal, Assam and Tripura.
CBI is probing the scam on an order by the Supreme Court.