The Bombay high court’s Nagpur bench has asked former Calcutta high court chief justice JN Patel to probe into a ₹150-crore Nagpur District Cooperative Bank scam. Former minister and Congress leader Sunil Kedar is the bank’s chairman and the main accused in the scam.
The bench’s decision came in response to one Omprakash Kamdi’s petition for expedited trial in the case, which has been lingering since 2002. The petitioner demanded fixing responsibility for the losses caused to the bank, particularly by its directors, and recovery of dues from them under the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act.
Patel will replace former principal district and sessions judge Subhash Mohod. A division bench allowed the cooperative department in May 2017 to appoint Mohod for the probe into the matter. Mohod was unable to submit the probe report as per the deadline because of his poor health.
Additional government pleader Mehroz Pathan informed the bench that Mohod was suffering from heart-related ailments and will be unable to complete the inquiry before the extended deadline of November 6.