Microfinance case:VACB gets HC nod

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday allowed the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to go ahead with its probe in a case relating to the alleged misappropriation of microfinance funds by Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan and others.

Justice B. Sudheendra Kumar, however, directed the VACB to entrust the probe to an officer not below the rank of Superintendent of Police and to complete the probe in eight months. The court directed the VACB to conduct the probe across the State and to provide sufficient manpower and facilities to the probe team.

The court passed the directives while dismissing a petition filed by Mr. Natesan seeking to quash the FIR registered against him in the case.

The court, however, discharged N. Najeeb, former managing director of the Kerala State Backward Classes Development Corporation (KSBCDC) from the case. The other accused in the case are SNDP Yogam president M.N. Soman and SNDP Yogam microfinance coordinator K.K. Mahesan.

The VACB had registered the FIR based on a complaint filed by former Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan alleging irregularities in the utilisation of funds secured from the KSBCDC for microfinance operations. He alleged that the Yogam had charged 12% interest from the beneficiaries.

According to the complaint, the corporation had given the loan to the SNDP Yogam for disbursal among poor backward classes persons through self-help groups (SHGs). But in most cases, the loan amount was not disbursed to the SHGs and forged utilisation certificates were submitted to the KSBCDC.

A quick verification report by the VACB had revealed that the SNDP Yogam had received ₹15.85 crore from the KSBCDC between 2003 and 2014. The fund was misappropriated and misutilised, the VACB had stated in an affidavit.