A Bhagalpur court has expressed its dismay over two investigating agencies simultaneously probing the Rs 1,000 crore government fund transfer scam.

Bhagalpur additional district and sessions judge-I Shivanand Mishra on Wednesday ordered issuance of notices to the director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) along with the district magistrate and senior superintendent of police of Bhagalpur asking them to explain under what provisions of law were the agency and the district police probing the scam related cases simultaneously.

'I want to know under what provisions two separate government investigating agencies could initiate action against any individual for the same offence,' a practising lawyer of Bhagalpur civil court quoted judge Mishra as saying.

Mishra's observations came while hearing the anticipatory bail petitions filed by some accused in the scam.

Referring to Article 20 (B) of the Constitution, the judge said that no person shall be convicted and prosecuted for the same offence more than once. He asked the public prosecutor to reply on the matter on the next date of hearing, September 23.

The judge also sought to know from the public prosecutor, Satyanarayan Sah, on whose orders the FIRs were lodged in connection with diversion of funds to the accounts of Srijan Mahila Vikas Sahyog Samiti Limited, the non-government organisation at the centre of the scam.

The public prosecutor told the court that the FIRs had been lodged on the directive of the district magistrate.

Bail petitions were filed on behalf of Rubi Kumari, the wife of dismissed BJP leader Bipin Sharma; Aparna Verma, wife of expelled RLSP leader Abhishek Verma a.k.a. Dipak Verma; and Rajrani Verma, wife of Babloo Verma, the elder brother of Dipak Verma, all of whom have been named as accused.

Defence lawyer J.P. Sah pleaded before the court that bail be granted to the petitioners as they were homemakers and belonged to respectable families.

The main conspirators of the scam were Srijan's founder-secretary, the late Manorama Devi, her son Amit Kumar and her daughter-in-law Priya Kumar along with officials of the district administration and the banks.

Defence lawyer J.P. Sah told the court that several accused persons had earlier been arrested and sent to judicial custody.

Manorama, as founder-secretary, made the petitioners members of the NGO as it worked for the empowerment of women.

The public prosecutor, however, opposed their bail.

Satyanarayan Sah, the public prosecutor, had earlier informed the court that the investigation into 10 cases had been taken over by the CBI and the process was on to take up the remaining FIRs.

While 13 cases were lodged in Bhagalpur, two were filed in Saharsa and Banka districts.

In the meantime, the block development officer of Pirpainty, Sunil Kumar, and his Jagdishpur counterpart, Raghvendra Kumar, lodged two separate FIRs with the Kotwali police station late on Thursday evening in connection with the illegal transfer of Rs 18 crore to the account of Srijan.

The two BDOs named as accused officials of the Bank of Baroda, Indian Bank and representatives of Srijan besides public servants posted in their respective offices. The funds were transferred post-2008.

A total of 17 FIRs have so far been registered since the scam came to the fore in early August this year.