Refusing to accept the CBI submission that a discrepancy had occurred in recording the gold’s inventory seized from an importer, the Madras High Court, on Friday, had directed the CBCID, Tamil Nadu, to probe the case of missing 103.84 kgs of gold, which left the country’s premier investigating agency red-faced.

The gold is part of 400.47-kg bullion and ornaments confiscated by the CBI when it carried out searches at the office of Surana Corporation Ltd in Chennai in 2012 in a case pertaining to alleged favours extended by officials of Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation of India (MMTC) to the firm in the import of gold and silver.

Justice PN Prakash, before whom the plea came, said: “One can understand if the difference had been a few grams. But this court is unable to fathom as to how there could be a discrepancy of more than 100 kgs in the weight of gold.”

“Gold will not diminish in weight like ganja by efflux of time. Unfortunately, it appears that all parties to the great bullion expedition have deflected the golden question as to where this alleged gold weighing 103.864 kgs actually was.” On the contention of the Special public prosecutor’s contention that the prestige of CBI would come down if the investigation is done by the local police, Justice Prakash said: “This Court cannot subscribe to this view, because the law does not sanction such an inference. All policemen have to be trusted and it does not lie in the mouth of one to say that the CBI have special horns, whereas, the local police have only a tail.”