Kolkata, Sept. 9 -- The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday expressed serious concern over the reinstatement of Burdwan University's registrar, who is a suspect in a misappropriation of funds case, eight months after his retirement.
The reinstatement was done by the state Higher Education department. Justice Tirthankar Ghosh directed the university to file a supplementary affidavit by September 25 explaining the circumstances behind the government's decision and clarifying how a suspect
was reinstated. Petitioners were asked to submit their objections and denials, along with fresh materials related to the case, by October 25.
Perusing the investigation report, the court noted that part of the misappropriated funds had already been returned to the university. Justice Ghosh ordered that the amount be placed in an earmarked account and barred its use until the writ petition is disposed of.
The public prosecutor was also given liberty to move an application seeking cancellation of all bonds in the case. The court recorded its dismay that the probe had not progressed beyond the arrest of senior assistant Bhakta Mandal. Justice Ghosh, who had earlier shifted the investigation from the CID to the Kolkata Police, directed the investigating officer to identify other accused persons. The Enforcement Directorate was asked to trace the money trail.
On submissions made by counsel Shamim Ahmed, the court noted that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had not audited the university's accounts beyond 2020.
The next hearing has been fixed for December 9.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.