Tripura High Court orders government to auction assets of chit fund companies, return money to depositors

T Amarnath Gaur, Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court, and Justice Arindam Lodh issued an order on January 20 directing the central and state governments to sell the assets of Tripura's chit fund companies and return them to the aggrieved depositors.

The High Court ordered that the Tripura-based properties of chit fund companies should be taken immediately.
The Court also said that the confiscated properties should be auctioned by calling for bids, and a plan should be made to divide the money from the auction among depositors.

In addition, the High Court ordered that the directors and partners of the chit fund companies' passports, PAN cards, Aadhaar cards, and credit and debit cards be seized, arrested, and turned over to the appropriate court as soon as possible. The case will resume on April 20.

Senior lawyers Purushottam Roy Barman and Samarjit Bhattacharya appeared in court to argue that fraudulent chit fund companies' assets ought to be taken away and sold at auction. The two attorneys stated that the accused is not being arrested for chit funds. They are described as "absconders" in a chargesheet that is being filed. Following the statements of the two attorneys and the response of the government side, the High Court issued the aforementioned instructions when the issue of the non-starting of the process of returning money to depositors was brought to its attention.
 

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