The Calcutta High Court has returned a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) preliminary inquiry report on alleged financial corruption linked to illegal construction in Kolkata after the agency submitted only one copy for a two-judge division bench.
The report concerned alleged irregularities behind illegal construction in the city’s Narkeldanga and Beleghata areas. The matter was heard on Wednesday by a division bench headed by Chief Justice Rabindra V. Ghughe, according to Sangbad Pratidin – Kolkata.
The CBI had submitted a preliminary inquiry report during the hearing. However, the court did not accept it because only one copy was filed, although two copies are required for a division bench comprising two judges. The report said the Chief Justice questioned whether the agency was unaware that the bench had two judges.
The court returned the document over the failure to follow the administrative procedure and directed the CBI to submit the report again in accordance with the prescribed rules. The agency has been asked to file a detailed and final report at the next hearing, scheduled for December.
The case relates to a wider investigation into illegal multi-storey buildings in several Kolkata neighbourhoods. In September, the Chief Justice-led division bench handed the CBI responsibility for investigating more than 50 alleged illegal constructions in Rajabazar, Beleghata, Maniktala and Canal East Road areas.
The investigation also covers at least 55 alleged illegal constructions within the jurisdictions of the Narkeldanga and Amherst Street police stations. As part of the inquiry, the CBI has sought records relating to 42 constructions from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.
The records requested from the civic body are central to establishing how the buildings were approved, recorded or allowed to proceed, although the supplied report does not provide details of the documents or identify specific officials or private parties facing allegations. It also does not state whether the CBI has reached conclusions on the alleged financial transactions.
The court’s decision to return the report was linked to the filing procedure rather than a finding on the substance of the allegations. The report will therefore have to be resubmitted before the court considers the agency’s findings in detail.
The next scheduled hearing in December is expected to include the CBI’s detailed and final report. Until then, the allegations of financial corruption and the status of the individual constructions remain subject to the ongoing judicially monitored inquiry.
