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Patna High Court escalates bank fraud case, seeks action taken report; refers matter to Chief Justice
The Patna High Court directed the case records to be presented before the Chief Justice in larger public interest and sought action taken reports from RBI, the Home Ministry, and the Finance Ministry. The court noted potential large-scale defalcation involving government funds and could implicate bank officials beyond the branch, including funds meant for welfare schemes such as PMAY and agricultural programs.
Why It Matters
The order signals intensified judicial oversight of financial fraud involving public funds and attempts to align judicial action with executive policy to curb embezzlement and protect welfare scheme funds.
Timeline
3 Events
Order uploaded to court registry
April 27, 2026
The court order passed on April 23, 2026 was uploaded to the registry on Monday, April 27, 2026.
HC escalates bank fraud case; seeks action taken report, refers to Chief Justice
April 23, 2026
A bench of Justice Purnendu Singh directed that the case records be placed before the Chief Justice in larger public interest. The court ordered that copies of the order be sent to the Reserve Bank of India, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of Finance seeking an action taken report to curb misappropriation of public money, including funds for government welfare schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and agricultural loans/insurance. The bench observed that the financial loss is estimated at ₹1,89,95,765.77 and that the scope could extend beyond a single branch or individuals, potentially involving high-ups.
FIR filed against bank officials for embezzlement
August 14, 2024
Darauli police station, Siwan, registered a case based on a report by Satyam Shivam, branch manager, Uttar Bihar Gramin Bank, Kanhauli Branch-2, Siwan, alleging embezzlement of ₹47,64,316 during 2013-2014 through forged and fake certificates. Bank officials Dharmendra Kumar Singh and Dilip Kumar were named as main and co-accused. The FIR notes withdrawals of customers’ deposits—such as Satyaveer Yadav and Usha Kumari—on forged certificates with bank authorization; a suspected modus operandi included issuing fake Fixed Deposit certificates and not crediting actual CBS entries, with a ₹15,00,000 deposit reportedly not reflected in bank records.