Bombay HC asks Maharashtra govt to study case papers in petition challenging bank account transfer

The Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court on Thursday asked the state government to study the case papers in a petition challenging the alleged transfer of police staff and beneficiaries accounts from nationalised banks to Axis Bank.

A division bench of Justice PN Deshmukh and Justice Pushpa Ganediwala gave two weeks time to the state government to study the case papers to assist the court on the issuance of notices.

The petition contended that the Maharashtra government had in the year 2017 transferred the accounts of police staff and beneficiaries of various schemes from nationalised banks to Axis Bank, in which Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's wife Amruta D Fadnavis was a senior position.

Advocate Harshal S Burapatre had filed the petition in the court on behalf of social worker Mohanish Jabalpure.

The court also allowed the petitioner to remove the name of Amruta D Fadnavis from the petition.

The petitioner had requested to remove her name from the petition since she is no longer holding the office in Axis Bank.

The petition sought the court's direction to the State Bank of India to estimate the how many accounts of police officials have been transferred from the bank to Axis Bank and how much loss it has incurred on the government bank.

It also challenged the action of the state government of issuing a circular for passing a government circular and entering into a contract with Axis bank with interest to help Amruta D Fadnavis, wife of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Maharashtra police, today, also released a clarification saying the accounts of police officials have had accounts in Axis Bank and other private banks since the year 2003.