Calcutta, Dec. 23: Calcutta High Court today said the committee appointed by it to sell the properties of MPS group and refund its depositors would start functioning from February 1.

The division bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice Joymalya Bagchi also said the committee involving retired Justice S.P. Talukdar would operate from 5, Council House Street in central Calcutta.

"The state government, Sebi and the CBI will assist the judicial committee in its functioning. The committee will have to file its first progress report before the court in the last week of April," the bench said in the order.

The court said the committee would not only sell the properties of the MPS group but also those of its directors to refund depositors.

"The assets belonging to MPS and its directors will have to be seized and sold. The tenure of the committee will be one year but if needed, the court may extend the time limit," the bench said.

The court said the amount received from the sale of the company's assets would be kept in an account of a nationalised bank.

"From the said amount, the committee will refund the money to the depositors," the order said.

Advocate-general Jayanta Mitra had earlier assured the court that the government would bear the cost of running the committee and provide office space, staff and their salary.

Mitra had also told the court that the committee would function as long as the court wanted it to and that the state government would not "discontinue" it midway.

Many MPS depositors present in room number 1 of the court welcomed the order.

"We hope we'll get back our money," said Nabin Jana, a depositor who came from Nichinda Bazar in East Midnapore.

In March this year, some depositors of the MPS group had moved a petition before Justice Saumitra Pal of the high court, alleging that though the high court had issued an order asking the company not to collect money from its depositors, it continued doing so.

Justice Pal had directed police to seal the properties and offices of the MPS group. The MPS management challenged Justice Pal's order before the division bench.

The division bench then took an initiative to refund the money of the depositors and made the state government, the Centre, Sebi and the CBI parties to the case.

In the Saradha case, the state government had borne the cost of the Justice Shyamal Sen Commission which it had set up to assess the loss the depositors had suffered.

The Sen commission had distributed cheques to over 4.98 lakh depositors by spending Rs 262 crore of taxpayers' money.