Kolkata: A division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Monday reaffirmed its directions for a probe by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) into the attached assets of the Rose Valley group of companies, citing overriding public interest and the need to protect depositors’ money.
The bench of Justice Uday Kumar and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj observed that SFIO’s jurisdiction is confined to the affairs of companies under the Companies Act and does not extend to bodies such as the Asset Disposal Committee (ADC). The court clarified that it had not ordered any audit of the ADC as an independent entity. The focus of the probe, the court said, is the attached assets of the Rose Valley companies, under attachment by the Enforcement Directorate and overseen by the ADC for identification, valuation, auction, sale and disbursement. Any scrutiny of asset trails, transactions and money flows necessarily relates to the affairs of the companies concerned.
Noting that SFIO can act only upon a formal Central government order, the court directed the Union of India, through the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, to immediately authorise SFIO to investigate under the public interest provision of the law.
The court observed that the attached assets, estimated at Rs 20,000–30,000 crore, constitute public money held in trust for defrauded depositors. It recalled concerns over delays and procedural lapses in asset monetisation and recorded that alternative options for a forensic exercise had not materialised. The matter will be taken up next on February 12, 2026.