Patna High Court. File Photo
By Neeraj Kumar
Patna: The Patna High Court has directed the Bihar government to place detailed information before it in connection with the alleged large-scale non-submission of utilisation certificates by various state departments.
Hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Kishor Kumar, a Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Sangam Kumar Sahu took cognisance of the matter. The court has scheduled the next hearing after two months.
In his petition, the petitioner stated that as many as 49,649 utilisation certificates had not been submitted by different departments of the state government. The amount involved is estimated to be nearly ₹70,000 crore. The figures pertain to the period from 2016–17 to 2022–23, as recorded up to March 31, 2024. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has also raised serious observations in this regard.
The PIL has sought a thorough investigation into the matter, citing its gravity, and demanded that the probe be conducted either by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or any other independent agency. As an alternative, the petitioner suggested the constitution of a committee under the chairmanship of a sitting or retired High Court judge to examine the issue.
The court was informed that during the said period, nearly 50,000 utilisation certificates involving around ₹70,000 crore remained pending. The petition expressed apprehensions of financial misappropriation, irregularities and improper utilisation of public funds.
The CAG, in its observations, has noted that the non-submission of utilisation certificates on such a massive scale does not provide any assurance regarding how and for what purposes the funds were used. It further stated that failure by government departments to submit utilisation certificates in large numbers is not in keeping with principles of financial discipline.
Emphasising the seriousness of the issue, the petition reiterated the need for an independent investigation into the prolonged non-submission of utilisation certificates involving such a substantial amount. The matter will be taken up for further hearing after two months.
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