HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court, on Monday, directed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), State Bank of India (SBI), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and other respondent banks to file their counter affidavits in four weeks in the petition filed by V Narayana Reddy, former managing director of VNR Infra Private Limited, against the declaration of his loan account as fraud.
Making it clear that the CBI investigation against the petitioner may continue, the court directed him to remove Enforcement Directorate as a respondent, since the ED has neither issued summons nor initiated his prosecution.A division bench of the court, comprising Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy, is dealing with the petition by Narayana Reddy with a plea to direct the respondent authorities not to take any coercive steps against him in connection with an RBI circular.
The bench extended the earlier interim order of the court suspending the impugned RBI circular. As for the case, investigations revealed that the petitioner had allegedly indulged in the laundering of Rs 280 crore of public money. Aggrieved with the action of the authorities in declaring his loan account as fraud, he had approached the HC for relief. It posted the matter to July 16 for further hearing.