Supreme Court decides to include the AP government as a defendant in Margadarshi Chit fund case

The Supreme Court of India on Friday has given a new directive in Margadarshi Chit Fund case. The Court has decided to include the Andhra Pradesh government as a defendant in the case. Former MP Undavalli Arun Kumar has filed a petition in the past challenging the discharge of chairman Ramoji Rao from the case. A bench of Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice MR Shah took up the matter on Friday. The Court also directed the Reserve Bank's special officer to be included. Ordering the filing of the revised memo to this extent, the Court has adjourned the hearing for two weeks.

Going into details, on December 19, 2006, the then State Government issued a decree on Margadarshi Financiers based on Section 45 (t) and Section 58 (e) of the same Act for violating Section 45 (S) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 and collecting deposits. In the wake of reports that the pioneering financiers had lost half the value of its deposits, GO No. 800 was appointed by the then Finance Department Adviser N. Rangachari to look into the matter.

Also, the CID has appointed IG Krishna Raja as an authorized officer through GO No. 801 to file a case in Court for action under section 45 (t) and section 58 (e) of the RBI Act. Based on the report by N.Rangachari, Krishna Raju filed the CC No. 540 in the First Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court on January 23 2008. Margadarshi Financiers company has filed a petition to halt the investigation in 2010. However, the Court dismissed the appeal.

In 2011, Guideline Financiers again approached the High Court seeking to set aside these orders. However, the Supreme Court ruled on March 28, 2018, that the stay order, in any case, would be suspended six months from that date. In this backdrop, the Margadarshi Financiers has approached the Supreme Court seeking an extension of stay. But the Court refused to extend the stay. Margadarshi

Financiers then approached the High Court in 2011, the Joint High Court hearing the case dismissed the Criminal Code No. 540 on the accused company. Advocate Allanki Ramesh has now filed an appeal in the Supreme Court on behalf of Arun Kumar.