Cuttack, Nov. 4: The state government has extended the term of Justice R.K. Patra Commission till April next year to complete the probe into fraudulent activities of deposit collection companies in the state.

However, legal experts feel that the probe is not likely to be over by the revised deadline.

On July 9, chief minister Naveen Patnaik had appointed the judicial commission following flak from the Opposition parties for the spate of cheating cases involving the fraud companies. The commission was asked to submit its report within three months. But, it is still preoccupied with opening of the packets of affidavits it had received in response to the notification issued on August 4. The notification had sought information on affidavits from persons having any knowledge about “unauthorised collection of public deposits in the state”. The last date to receive the affidavits by post was October 31.

As things stand today, the commission has been able to open less than 25,000 of the 7.5 lakh packets containing affidavits. It has been able to open not more than 3,000 to 4,000 packets (some of them containing more than one affidavits) a day. Inventory of the affidavits following segregation of invalid ones has hardly begun.

Official sources said the one-member commission had written to the state government to extend its term (which expired on October 9) by six months for completing the probe. The commission had sought the extension, expressing its inability to complete the inquiry within the stipulated time. It had also sought engagement of a panel of three lawyers to speed up the affidavit scrutiny process vis-à-vis attending to legalities, official sources said.

“The state government on November 1 granted six months extension to the commission. But, the proposal for engagement of the lawyers’ panel is yet to receive a go-ahead signal,” the commission’s secretary Devraj Rout told The Telegraph today.

“After registration of the affidavits, scrutiny of the sworn statements will follow for segregation on the basis of deposit collection companies named in the affidavits. Notices will be issued accordingly,” Rout said.

The commission’s terms also includes suggesting measures to safeguard the interest of genuine investors affected by the recent incidents related to unauthorised collection of public deposits and misappropriation along with safeguard measures to ensure financial security to the genuine investors and prevention of such problems in future.