SC grants SIT 8 weeks to finish Kripashankar probe

The Supreme Court on Monday granted eight weeks to the Special Investigating Team to complete its probe into the alleged amassing of disproportionate assets by former Mumbai Congress chief Kripashankar Singh and his family members.

A bench of justices H L Dattu and C K Prasad also said the SIT will be headed by the present Mumbai police commissioner Satyapal Singh. The team was earlier headed by former police commissioner Arup Patnaik who has recently been promoted as the director general of police.

The Maharashtra government has submitted to the Supreme Court two reports on the SIT probe in sealed covers about the alleged benami assets of Singh and his family members.

The first report was filed on April 16 in compliance with the March 13 order of the Supreme Court, which had asked the SIT to probe and collect documentary evidence regarding all movable and immovable properties of Singh and his family, including his wife, son, daughter-in-law and daughter and file its report in a sealed envelope.

The apex court had earlier refused to stay the probe but had put an interim stay on attaching and seizing their properties. It had also restrained the politician and his family members from "alienating, transferring or dealing with properties" enumerated in the petition against them during the pendency of the case and directed them to file an affidavit within three days giving an undertaking for the same.          

The apex court had passed its order on petitions filed by Kripashankar and his family members seeking a stay on the Bombay high court order of February 22 directing the then city police commissioner to prosecute them for "criminal misconduct" under Prevention of Corruption Act.

The Bombay high court had also directed the police to attach the immovable properties of the Congress MLA.

Challenging the high court's order, Singh and his family members had contended in their pleas that the order was passed on a petition, which was politically motivated.

The high court had in its order also said if required the Mumbai police commissioner can approach the competent authority to seek sanction to prosecute Singh.

The high court had passed the order on a public interest litigation petition filed by activist Sanjay Tiwari who had accused the Congress MLA of amassing wealth far exceeding his legal income.

The high court, while keeping the PIL pending, had ordered the CP to file a compliance report on April 19.

Tiwari has alleged in the petition that Kripashankar had been close to former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, currently in jail for his alleged involvement in a multi-crore rupee hawala scam. He alleged several monetary transactions had taken place between them.

Kripashankar's son Narendra Mohan is married to Ankita, daughter of Kamlesh Singh, who was a minister in Koda cabinet, and is now in jail in connection with a hawala scam.

Ankita had received Rs 1.75 crore in her account from Kamlesh, the PIL alleged, adding there were huge transactions from the bank accounts of Kripashankar's wife Malti Devi too.