IMA case should be probed by CBI, not SIT: Senior advocate tells high court
The advocate representing BM Vijayshankar, Bengaluru urban district deputy commissioner, told the high court that the CBI should be probing the I Monetary Advisory Ponzi scam case
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FollowBengaluru: The high court on Thursday ordered notice to the state government and the CBI. It has also ordered notice to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) and Registrar of Companies (RoC) among others.
Justice PS Dinesh Kumar ordered these notices in a petition filed by Bengaluru urban district deputy commissioner BM Vijayshankar, who was arrested on Monday, for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 1.5 crore from I Monetary Advisory (IMA) founder-owner Mohammad Mansoor Khan.
According to reports, senior advocate Lakshmi Narayana, appearing for Vijayashankar, has said that the SIT lacks jurisdiction to investigate IMA’s activities which were not restricted to Karnataka.
He also reportedly said that based on a presidential order regarding Ponzi schemes, CBI should be conducting the inquiry.
The advocate also reportedly said that the SIT could not have issued a notice to the petitioner under Section 160 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), especially when he is a competent authority under the Karnataka Protection of Interests of Depositors and Financial Establishments Act-2004.
According to the advocate’s argument, Vijayashankar had only forwarded the assistant commissioner’s report without expressing any opinion.
He also requested the court to issue a directive to the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) to submit a report to the Centre and take further action as per the provisions of the Companies Act-2003.
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