The High Court of Karnataka on Monday directed the State’s investigating agencies and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to coordinate with each other on probes on alleged financial and investment scams related to 11 firms and companies, including the IMA Group of Companies.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice H.T. Narendra Prasad also directed the State government to submit a status report about the investigations conducted based on cases registered against such companies by July 23.
The Bench passed the order during the hearing of a PIL petition, filed in 2018 by Imran Pasha and another petitioner, both residents of Bengaluru, seeking a probe by the Central investigation agencies like the ED, the Central Bureau of Investigation, and the Income Tax Department, on the affairs of 11 firms and companies, alleging that they had cheated the poor.
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Earlier, a counsel for the ED told the Bench that cases were registered against two of these 11 companies and the ED had no information on the cases booked against others though it would take up a probe once it received information on cases booked from the State agencies.
Meanwhile, the Bench also ordered issue of notices to IMA Group of Companies, Ambident Marketing Pvt. Ltd., Burraqh Groups, Aala Ventures Ltd., Tiforp Trading Service Pvt. Ltd., S.K. Business Solutions LLP, ZR Business Solutions LLP, Profito In Service, Ajmera Business Solutions, Morgenall, and Shri Karulppuswamy Promoters. The notices were also ordered to be issued to the CBI and the Union government.
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Meanwhile, a single judge bench of Justice Alok Aradhe ordered issue of notices to the State government and the CBI on two separate petitions, filed by Mohammed Sirajuddin, a resident of Chitradurga, S.M. Iqbal Ahmed, and other the investors of IMA Group of Companies, seeking transfer cases registered against the IMA Group and its directors to the CBI.