The Supreme Court docket Tuesday deferred by two weeks the listening to on CBI’s contempt plea towards former Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar and others alleging non-cooperation by them in its probe into the multi-crore-rupee Saradha chit fund rip-off case.
The CBI, entrusted with investigating the Ponzi scheme circumstances in West Bengal by the apex courtroom, filed the contempt plea on February 4, 2019 towards Kumar, former Chief Secretary Malay Kumar De and state’s DGP Virendra saying that it was not getting their cooperation within the ongoing probe.
The company additionally sought cancellation of bail granted to Kumar and his custodial interrogation as he was “evasive throughout questioning”.
A bench comprising Justices S Abdul Nazeer and Sanjiv Khanna deferred the listening to by two weeks because it has been conducting closing listening to into the case associated to winding up of six mutual fund schemes of Franklin Templeton.
Throughout temporary listening to, senior advocate A M Singhvi, showing for one of many bureaucrats, stated the company was “reviving one thing which is age previous”.
“The contempt at all times stays alive,” stated Solicitor Basic Tushar Mehta, showing for the CBI.
“It turns into alive throughout elections,” stated Singhvi.
The Saradha group of corporations allegedly duped lakhs of individuals of round Rs 2,500 crore, promising larger charges of return on their investments.
The rip-off was unearthed in 2013 throughout Kumar’s tenure because the Bidhannagar police commissioner.
Kumar was a part of the Particular Investigation Workforce (SIT) arrange by the West Bengal authorities for probing the rip-off, earlier than the Supreme Court docket handed over the case to the CBI in 2014 together with different chit fund circumstances.
In November 2019, the apex courtroom had sought the response of the IPS officer on the CBI’s enchantment difficult the anticipatory bail granted to him within the chit fund rip-off by the Calcutta Excessive Court docket.
The probe company had filed an enchantment within the apex courtroom towards the October 1, 2019 order of the Calcutta Excessive Court docket, which had granted Kumar the reduction saying it was not an acceptable case for custodial interrogation.
The excessive courtroom had directed Kumar to cooperate with the investigating officers and make himself out there earlier than them for questioning on a 48-hour discover by the CBI.
On September 21, 2019, a pre-arrest bail plea of the IPS officer was rejected by the Alipore District and Periods Court docket in Kolkata.
The Centre and the West Bengal authorities had been additionally locked in an unprecedented standoff after a CBI crew had reached Kumar’s official residence for questioning him, however needed to retreat because the native police detained its officers.
