Rs 650 cr released from Mehta's assets

On the back of a distribution proposal submitted by the Custodian, Justice D K Deshmukh of the Special Court, Mumbai, has ordered for payment of Rs 28.34 crore to the Income Tax Department, Rs 259.65 crore to the State Bank of India, Rs 16.25 crore to SBI Caps and Rs 345.76 crore to the Standard Chartered Bank, aggregating Rs 650 crore from the attached accounts of the Harshad Mehta Group.

The payments are to be released on an interim basis on undertakings to be provided by the receiving entities that the amounts will be brought back to the Custodian if so ordered by the Special Court.

In the case of Standard Chartered Bank, the court has ordered for the submission of a Board resolution along with an undertaking from the Bank. The Custodian has been asked to release the amount to the Standard Chartered Bank only after final court clearance.

In ordering these releases, the Special Court has strictly followed the priorities of claims laid down under Section 11 of the Act, placing primary income tax liabilities above the claims of banks and financial institutions.