Special court attaches Shivajinagar govt school building in IMA scam

The special court for KPIDFE Act cases has attached the four-storey building, with all movables, of VK Obaidullah Government Urdu Medium Higher Primary Boys School in Shivajinagar for recovery of Rs 12.82 crore in connection with the I Monetary Advisory (IMA) scam.

Special court judge Shridhar G Bhat said the attachment would not affect the activities of the present academic year 2022-­23, which ends on April 30, 2023.

IMA and its group entities have cheated more than 65,000 depositors of the principal amount of about Rs 2,600 crore. The Competent Authority and Special Officer for ­the IMA Group filed a petition under Section 13 of the Karnataka Protection of Interest of Depositors in Financial Establishments Act (KPIDFE) seeking attachment of the government school property.

The petition stated that the IMA Group had entered into an MoU with the Block Education Officer, North Block-3, to take up the overall improvement of the school. With no independent funds of its own, the IMA Group illegally diverted Rs 12.82 crore from the depositors’ money to the Commissioner for Public Instruction and the Block Education Officer, Shivajinagar, in the name of giving donations.

The petition further said the cost of construction of the four floors, consisting of 28 classrooms, two dining halls, one conference hall, four staff rooms, three science laboratories and one library was around Rs 10 crore. The IMA Group had also paid charges towards the maintenance of the school for two years.

The court observed that under Section 13 of the KPIDFE Act, there is no bar on attaching government property if the transferee of the property from the financial establishment is government.

“When the property/assets of the financial establishment is mala fidely transferred in favour of the government, then the property of the government to the extent of the value of the property transferred could be attached under the said provision. The provisions of the KPIDFE Act do not provide for any exception/exclusion of the attachment of the government property,” the court said.

The court gave four months’ time to the Commissioner for Public Instruction and the BEO, Shivajinagar, to deposit Rs 12.82 crore to the account of the competent authority.

“On payment of the said amount, this attachment order stands automatically cancelled without any further order. If respondents no 4 and 5 (Commissioner for Public Instructions and BEO) fail to deposit the amount as ordered, the petitioner is entitled to recover the amount from the attached property expeditiously, so as to disburse the same in favour of the depositors of the respondent no 1 (IMA) in accordance with the law,” the court said.