26 November,2025 08:25 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
The court said that the applicant had been deprived of Rs 50,000 for all these years. Representational Pic/File
A Mumbai court reportedly pulled up the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allegedly "sleeping over" its 2015 order to return Rs 50,000 seized during an investigation, directing the central agency to hand back the amount along with a cost of Rs 5,000, reported the PTI.
V. P. Desai, the special judge for Central Bureau of Investigation cases, further remarked that the agency may recover the cost from the investigating officer's salary, according to the PTI.
The matter dates back to September 2014, when the CBI seized Rs 50,000 in cash from the residence of applicant Peres Pezarkar during a search conducted as part of a corruption inquiry. However, as the CBI failed to find sufficient evidence against the accused, the case was closed in November 2015. At that time, the court had already directed the agency to return all documents and belongings seized during the investigation, as per the PTI.
Pezarkar recently approached the court stating that he had still not received the amount, arguing that this deliberate non-compliance amounted to "disobedience of lawful orders passed by the court".
He also urged that the CBI should be instructed to pay 18 per cent interest on the money from November 2015 in addition to returning the principal.
In its order dated November 15, the court said, "It is surprising that even after orders were passed by the predecessor of this court, CBI has slept over the matter for almost ten years," the news agency reported.
The court also noted that the agency itself had concluded that there was insufficient material to proceed against Pezarkar.
Demonetisation was announced on November 8, 2016, rendering the original currency notes invalid. Yet, the judge pointed out, the investigating officer did not take any steps to return the cash to Pezarkar during the two-month window when he could have deposited the notes in a bank, according to the PTI.
Responding to the CBI's plea to deposit the seized cash with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the court said there was "no hitch in considering" this request.
However, it directed that once the old notes are deposited with the RBI, Pezarkar must be provided with an equivalent amount in new currency.
The court added that the applicant had been deprived of Rs 50,000 for all these years, and therefore the CBI must pay him a cost of Rs 5,000.
(with PTI inputs)
