The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court on Wednesday permitted former Calcutta High Court Chief Justice JN Patel (Retired) to submit his inquiry report into the affairs and functioning of the Nagpur District Central Cooperative Bank (NDCCB). A Division Bench comprising Justice Anil S Kilor and Justice Rajnish R Vyas passed the order while hearing a civil application filed in a long-pending Public Interest Litigation. The High Court had appointed Justice Patel as the authorised officer to conduct an inquiry under Section 88 of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960. The inquiry was aimed at examining the affairs and working of the bank and fixing responsibility for the losses caused to it.

 

The bank was headed by former minister and Congress leader Sunil Kedar during the period under scrutiny. The inquiry assumes importance as it relates to the financial irregularities in the cooperative bank, including the Rs 150 crore scam. The inquiry has now been completed. The Cooperation Department approached the High Court seeking directions to Justice Patel to place the inquiry report before the court. The application was heard on Wednesday. The Bench noted that it was necessary to place the report prepared under Section 88 of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act on record. Accordingly, the court requested Justice Patel to submit the report before the court within four weeks from Wednesday. The civil application was then disposed of. The order was passed in the PIL filed by Omprakash Bhaurao Kamdi and others against the State of Maharashtraand other respondents. The NDCCB case has remained pending for more than two decades.

 

The alleged scam had its roots in investments made by the bank in government securities through private brokers between the late 1990s and 2001. The bank had invested around Rs 125.60 crore through brokers, including Home Trade Ltd, Century Dealers, Giltage Management Services, Indramani Merchants and Syndicate Management Services. Questions were later raised over the transactions when the bank was asked to produce original securities and investment certificates. Several original documents were reportedly not available in the bank records. A special audit was ordered by the Cooperation Department.

 

The audit pointed to serious irregularities in the transactions and alleged that public money had been invested through unauthorised brokers. Criminal proceedings followed against several persons, including Kedar, bank officials and brokers. The criminal case eventually resulted in Kedar and five others being convicted by a Nagpur court in December 2023. They were sentenced to five years’ rigorous imprisonment.