CBI takes CRB case to apex court

Investigating agency CBI has moved the Supreme Court against the Delhi High Court (HC) order that stayed criminal proceedings against CRB Capital Markets, which had allegedly duped 1.35 lakh small investors and many financial institutions of Rs 1,200 crores in the 1990s. A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhan asked the agency to file an affidavit, stating why it had delayed filing the appeal against the HC order.
CBI submitted that the High Court did not have the jurisdiction to stay criminal chargesheets filed under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 pending before the special Judge, Mumbai. The agency contended that the High Court had not only stayed the criminal proceedings, but had also approved the revival scheme of CRB Capital Markets in January last year.
CBI on the basis of complaints had registered various cases against CRB chairman Chain Roop Bhansali, SBI officials and others for duping the Bank of Baroda and State Bank of India of Rs 3.43 crore and Rs 57 crore, respectively, in 1997.According to the petitioner, CRB had issued warrants for huge amounts from these banks favouring its own associates who were ineligible for such fixed deposit repayment and brokerage warrants as they neither mobilised funds for the company nor maintained deposits with it. Such warrants were later encashed from SBI and BoB branches across the country, thus causing undue loss the banks, it added.