Taking a tough stand in the case of alleged misuse of public funds, the Delhi High Court has directed Bank of Baroda to deposit with itself an amount of over Rs 217.6 crore. The order came to light after funds worth about Rs 70.25 crore meant for the improvement and conservation of the Delhi Ridge hill area came to light. Taking this entire matter seriously, the court has laid emphasis on investigation of financial transactions and responsibilities.
This amount belonged to the Ridge Management Board, which was specifically kept for environmental protection and maintaining greenery. According to the case, the Forest and Wildlife Department had transferred about Rs 223 crore from State Bank of India to the Deshbandhu Road branch of Bank of Baroda to avail the benefit of better interest rate (5.25%). This entire amount was divided into 113 fixed deposit (FD) receipts. However, the department later alleged that bank officials allegedly acted in ‘bad faith’, leading to illegal withdrawal of around Rs 70.25 crore. After this revelation, the matter gained momentum and the demand for investigation intensified. Taking a strict stand on this entire controversy, the Delhi High Court has already directed the bank to keep an amount of more than Rs 217.6 crore in safe deposit and has insisted on a transparent investigation of the matter.
Court strict on negligence in ridge protection
The CBI is investigating this case as a large-scale embezzlement, which has further increased the seriousness of the entire episode. During the last hearing, Justice Jasmeet Singh rejected the arguments of Bank of Baroda in which the bank had tried to put the responsibility on the forest officials. The court strongly criticized this stance. Commenting on this, the court said that on one hand the environment of the city continued to deteriorate, while on the other hand, the huge amount kept for environmental protection was either not utilized or was allegedly embezzled. The Delhi High Court clarified that this fund should have been used immediately for the conservation and improvement of Delhi Ridge, which was not done.
Important hearing to be held on May 12
Bank of Baroda has told the Delhi High Court that it will deposit the entire amount of ₹2,17,60,98,379 with the Registrar General before the next hearing. Advocate Kush Sharma, on behalf of the bank, gave this information in the court on April 30. The move follows an earlier order directing safekeeping of the undisputed amount of ₹152.75 crore, while the alleged “missing” amount of about ₹70.24 crore is still under criminal investigation. Meanwhile, the bank’s legal troubles seem to be increasing further. Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) has also filed a separate petition in the matter to its funds. To avoid possible conflict of cases, Justice Rajneesh Kumar Gupta has sent DUSIB’s petition to the same bench which is hearing the case to the Forest and Wildlife Department.
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