Guwahati, June 21: Dispur is working out the modalities of a plan to use the money seized from deposit-collecting companies to repay depositors who were duped by these fraud firms.

State government counsel Babita Goyal today told Gauhati High Court that a proposal was being prepared in pursuance of an order the court had passed on April 22 directing the government to return the money seized from the companies to the rightful claimants.

Goyal made the submission before a division bench, comprising Chief Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice Arup Kumar Goswami, during hearing of a public interest litigation (number 15/2013). The high court had taken up the PIL suo motu against deposit-collecting companies for allegedly duping scores of investors in Assam of their hard-earned money. She, however, did not furnish any details about the proposal, which is reportedly under preparation.

The high court had opined that the amount seized from the companies should be promptly returned to the rightful claimants during the previous hearing of the PIL on April 22.

Assam director-general of police Jayanto Narayan Chaudhury, in an affidavit submitted in connection with the PIL on April 22, had stated that approximately Rs 93 lakh had been seized and about Rs 24 crore frozen.

“Some immovable properties have also been seized and the court has been moved for attachment of some other properties,” the affidavit added.

Assam police had also constituted a special investigation team for monitoring and supervising the investigation of the 192 cases against deposit collecting companies in the state.

In connection with a writ petition (civil) (number 3151) filed by Hridayananda Goswami and others, that had alleged that the investigating agency had not taken cognisance of some companies illegally collecting money in the state, the high court today directed the special investigation team to look into the matter.

The court, while tagging the writ with the PIL, fixed August 29 as the next date of hearing of the PIL.