Ranchi, March 17: Jharkhand High Court has directed the CBI to submit a report on the progress of investigation in the 1997 muster roll scam. The court also asked the Jharkhand government to submit details on the action it has taken on the recommendation of CBI.
A division bench of chief Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice S.J. Mukhopadhyay fixed June 24 as the next date of hearing and directed the CBI to report the progress in cases related to muster roll scam in CBI courts.
Earlier, Rajesh Kumar, appearing on behalf of CBI, told the court that 11 cases had been filed in connection with the scam. Chargesheets have filed in two cases while CBI has recommended rigorous departmental action in nine other cases.
In another case, the court stayed proceedings in complaint case filed against former executive chairman of Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL) M.S. Banga.
Banga had challenged the cognisance taken by the first class judicial magistrate of Bokaro, Uttam Anand, on February 17 this year against him on a complain case filed by Ashok Kejriwal, secretary of Mansa Rural and Industrial Development Society, Bokaro. The dispute arose when HLL, on December 22, 2004 directed Kejriwal to stop production of a detergent at a factory set up in 2001 after an agreement with the company with the society.
The decision had left 200 factory workers unemployed. According to the agreement, production was expected to continue for at least 15 years.
The society had filed a complain case for breach of trust on February 2 before the chief judicial magistrate of Bokaro which was later transferred to the court of first class judicial magistrate Uttam Anand.
Appearing on behalf of Banga, Dilip Jeruth contended that his client left the post of executive chairman of HLL on June 30, 2004 and is working at present as a business group president with Unilever, a company under the laws of England and having its principal office at London. Banga, he said, is posted at Singapore and has nothing to do with the affairs of HLL.
In another development, the court directed the Centre to sanction a plan and release funds in four weeks for water management in Ramgarh cantonment area. The direction was given on a PIL filed by Manendra Pratap Singh.
