Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 18: First Puisne Judge of J&K High Court Justice Rajesh Bindal today directed Additional Advocate General (AAG) Raman Sharma appearing for Senior Superintendent of Police, Crime Branch Jammu to submit the latest status of the Preliminary Verification initiated against Ashok Kumar Goswami, the then Managing Director Citizens’ Cooperative Bank Ltd Jammu and others on the complaint lodged by the then two Directors of the Bank namely Varinder Singh Jamwal and Parveen Kumar Sharma.
After hearing Advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed with Advocate Supriya Chouhan appearing for newly impleaded respondents Varinder Singh Jamwal and Parveen Kumar Sharma (both sitting Directors of the Bank), Justice Bindal expressed displeasure over the slackness on the part of the Crime Branch in finalizing the Preliminary Verification started way back in 2014.
Advocate Ahmed appearing for the two Directors/ complainants submitted that serious allegations were reported to the Crime Branch in the year 2014 against the then MD of the Bank Ashok Kumar Goswami regarding misuse of OTS (One Time Settlement) scheme, undue favours to wilful defaulters and fictitious loan beneficiaries, ignoring of collateral securities to facilitate loot of public money by giving huge interest rebate for making serious accumulated losses to bank, wiping off past fictitious/fake loans to shield the officers/higher-ups of the bank, violation of RBI norms, conferring of undue favours/benefits to the ex-employees/employees and their relatives who were not entitled to any relief related to OTS Scheme.
The Crime Branch had initiated Preliminary Verification No.70/2014 in the year 2014 and issued communication No.CBJ/RS/2014/18990 dated December 24, 2014, communication bearing No.CBJ/ RS/2014/52 dated January 01, 2015, communication bearing No.CBJ/RS/PV/15/568 dated January 12, 2015, communication No.CBJ/RS/PV/15/1890 dated February 05, 2015 to the Managing Director of the Citizens’ Cooperative Bank Ltd, Jammu wherein the then SSP Crime Branch Jammu solicited the requisite information in order to proceed further in the matter.
Advocate Ahmed further submitted that instead of providing information to the SSP Crime Branch Jammu the Citizens’ Cooperative Bank Ltd. through its Managing Director Ashok Goswami and Board of Directors through its Chairman Dinesh Gupta filed the instant writ petition in February 2015 for quashing the communications of the Crime Branch whereby the relevant record was requisitioned on the basis of the complaint lodged by the two sitting Directors of the Bank.
“No stay was granted by the High Court in the writ petition and only directions were issued to SSP Crime Branch Jammu not to interfere into the management and further direction was issued to provide copy of the complaint to the petitioners within the notice period if there is no legal impediment”, Advocate Ahmed said.
At this stage, Additional Advocate General Raman Sharma submitted that one status report has been filed by the Crime Branch Jammu in the year 2018 conveying non-cooperation of the Managing Director of the Bank in providing information. He further submitted that Crime Branch will come up with the latest status of the probe.
After considering the submissions of both the sides, Justice Bindal directed Additional Advocate General (AAG) Raman Sharma appearing for Senior Superintendent of Police, Crime Branch to submit the latest status of the Preliminary Verification No.70/2014 initiated against Ashok Kumar Goswami then Managing Director Citizens’ Cooperative Bank Ltd Jammu and others.
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