SC adjourns hearing on a PIL seeking court-monitored SIT probe
New Delhi, Feb 21 (IBNS) : The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned till March 16 the hearing of a public interest litigation seeking immediate court-monitored SIT probe into the Rs 11,400 crore PNB fraud case and deportation of Nirav Modi, the prime accused, media reports said.
The Centre is opposing the PIL.
According to media reports, the PIL petitioner Vineet Dhanda told SC that the top court should issue notice to the Centre as the Government has done nothing in the past in a similar case relating to Vijay Mallya.
"The whole country is watching and that the SC must at least issue notice to the Centre as the government has done nothing in the past in a similar case relating to Vijay Mallya," he said.
India’s second largest state-owned lender Punjab National Bank disclosed on 14 February that it was the victim of the country’s largest bank fraud. PNB revealed that fraudulent transactions by billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi and related entities amounted to $1.77 billion (or over Rs 11,000 crore).
In a complaint to the CBI, the bank said that Modi and the companies linked to him colluded with its officials to get Letters of Undertaking to help fund buyer’s credit from other overseas banks. The funds – ostensibly raised for the purchase and sale of diamonds – were not used for that purpose, PNB alleged.
The plea seeking a court-monitored SIT probe in the case states that the special investigation team should consist of retired judges of the apex court.
It has been claimed that the banking fraud has caused serious injury to the general public and the state's treasury and it should be investigated not by an agency "being controlled by the political leaders/authorities".
Last week, the CBI arrested three persons, including former PNB staffers - deputy manager Gokulnath Shetty and single window operator Manoj Kharat.
Three more officers of PNB’s MCB Brady House Branch were arrested and sent to police custody till March 3.
Nirav Modi has supposedly said PNB’s ‘over-zealousness’ shut the doors on his ability to clear the dues.
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