The Calcutta High Court on Thursday directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to produce the list of assets of Leaps and Bounds, a private company, from the date of its inception and the list of assets of its chief executive officer (CEO) and directors.
The ED has recently stated that Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee is the CEO of Leaps and Bounds and was also one of its directors earlier for a limited period.
The court directed the ED, which is also investigating alleged school jobs recruitment irregularities case apart from the CBI, to
produce the list of assets of the company from the date of its inception and the list of its CEO and directors, and all the members of the company.
Justice Amrita Sinha also directed the ED to produce before it on the next date of hearing, September 21, the memorandum of association of Leaps and Bounds, and the articles of association of the company and the date of registration of the company.
The Memorandum of Association is a document that explains why the organisation was founded. It also establishes the company’s authority and the terms under which it works.
The court said that a report filed by the investigating agencies as part of their probe in the case mentions the alleged involvement of several actors in the film industry.
Justice Sinha directed that the names and list of assets of the members of the film industry who are under the scanner of the investigating agencies be submitted before the court on the adjourned date.
Justice Sinha also stayed the orders of a CBI court at Alipore here, passed on August 21 and September 1, with regard to an investigation into a complaint by one of the accused – Kuntal Ghosh, until further orders of this court.
Ghosh, an accused in the school jobs scam case and in custody currently, had alleged that he was being pressured by investigators to take the name of Abhishek Banerjee, TMC’s unofficial number two.
The stay order came on an application by the CBI challenging an order of the judge, CBI court (in-charge) at Alipore, claiming that its order of August 21 was hampering the investigation which is being monitored by the high court.
The CBI court had on August 21 directed a report to be filed by the joint director, CBI and joint commissioner of police (crime), detective department, of Kolkata Poli
The investigation into the alleged school jobs recruitment scam is being conducted by a special investigating team (SIT) formed by the high court.
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The court said that a probe into a complaint lodged by one of the accused in the case by any other officer may prejudice the investigation being done by the SIT.
“The very idea is to proceed with the investigation and not scuttle the same by appointing officers who are not part of the special investigating team,” the court said.
Noting that the West Bengal Board of Primary Education has called for documents from candidates in TET 2020, the court directed the board to submit a comprehensive report on September 21.
