August 7, 2025

Big drama in the courts! The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court gave a fiery warning to the State government and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The issue? Their careless and slow action on huge loan fraud complaints made by the State Bank of India (SBI) worth a whopping ₹13.11 crore and ₹3.84 crore! That adds up to a staggering ₹17 crore in fraud! The court heard two separate petitions from SBI demanding that the CBI take immediate action. But what shocked everyone was Justice B. Pugalendhi's sharp words about the delay. He said that even though these frauds clearly need CBI investigation as per the RBI and Ministry of Finance rules, nothing has moved forward. The delay was not because of complicated law but pure bureaucratic laziness and a power tussle between the State government and the CBI. The judge slammed this attitude, saying, “What the court was faced with was not merely a procedural delay, but a systemic failure of two public authorities, whose indifference and turf war have derailed the entire purpose of justice. This is not an administrative lapse, but a deliberate erosion of accountability.” He pointed out that it’s not just about one case. The public’s faith in justice is at risk. SBI, which follows all official rules, had to drag both Centre and State to court because neither acted unless forced. The court called this a “breakdown of institutional responsibility.” According to Justice Pugalendhi, agencies that should protect the law are hurting their own duties by delaying and blocking investigations. “Justice is delayed not due to complexity, but due to ego and politics. The court cannot, and will not, be a silent spectator to such abdication of responsibility,” he declared and gave clear instructions. He explained that when fraud exceeds the set limit, CBI must act on bank complaints once the State consents, and they must register an FIR promptly. They can investigate to find unknown culprits later, so they shouldn’t wait to identify every person before starting. Justice Pugalendhi also discouraged the annoying practice of repeatedly asking the CBI to resend proposals for State consent without real reasons. This wastes time and lets offenders escape. He demanded the State be consistent and stop wasting time with needless paperwork. The Central and State governments should work together, not create hurdles for justice. The court ordered the Chief Secretary and the CBI Zonal Head to check why these delays happened and fix their internal accountability. The State government and CBI must remember their loyalty is to the Constitution and the law, not their own convenience or politics. The final direction was clear: CBI must start working on SBI’s fraud complaints now, without further delay. Truth and justice may have been slowed, but the Madras High Court has spoken loud and clear: no more games, time to catch the fraudsters and restore trust!

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Tags: Madras high court, Loan fraud, Sbi, Cbi, State government, Justice system,