Both the Lokayukta and the revenue secretary blew the whistle, but the government just ignored them
Both the Lokayukta and the revenue secretary blew the whistle, but the government just ignored them
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The State Bank of Mysore's string of irregularities in issuing stamp papers have now come to light thanks to a long-drawn investigation.
Selling stamp papers without any written order from the government, printing them in private presses, keeping no accounts of sales, these are just a few gross violations of norms the bank has committed.
The stamps and registration authorities had asked the bank to stop, but it carried on regardless.
Both the government and the Lokayukta, at various points, had questioned the irregularity. The Lokayukta had called for an inquiry, but nothing happened.
After the Telgi scam broke, the Karnataka government banned the sale of stamp papers, but the bank now sells "document sheets" resembling stamp papers.
The law lays down that only the Central government can print stamp papers, and at a high security government press.
The Lokayukta and the government have said the bank's stamp paper business is irregular, but strangely, no one is lifting a finger.
SBM issues document sheets in denominations ranging from Rs 20 to Rs 500. Records obtained under the RTI Act reveal that the bank is not submitting daily transaction records to the government for reconciliation, which could mean a scandal bigger than the one Telgi is accused of.
The bank has not sent monthly records to the Inspector General of Registration & Commissioner of Stamps (IGR & CS), as required under the law.
Petitions filed by this reporter over two years reveal other shocking facts.
How it all began
After the Telgi scam broke in April 2003, the state government completely banned the sale of stamp papers.
Telgi was printing and selling fake stamp papers across many states, but mainly in Karnataka.
The government temporarily authorised State Bank of Mysore and three other banks to collect stamp duty on its behalf from May 2003. But there was no written agreement to this effect.
But once it became apparent that the operations were illegal, a nervous government attempted a cover-up.
Late order
It sent out a letter on May 7, 2007 called 'Order No 255', authorising SBM and three other banks to print and sell document sheets.
The letter also said the government would pay 1 per cent commission to the banks for collecting stamp duty.
But this reporter has accessed several document sheets issued by SBM between April 2003 and 2007 in various denominations. That means the bank printed and sold these sheets without any authorisation. Who kept track of the accounts?
On March 29, 2004, the stamps and duties registrar's office wrote to SBM asking them to stop issuing such "document sheet(s), akin to stamp papers" with immediate effect.
The bank disregarded the letter. The Karnataka government got jittery again in 2007, but didn't stop the practice.
Latha Krishna Rao, the then revenue secretary of the Karnataka government, in a letter to the Lokayukta on January 29, 2007, said the bank was guilty of misconduct.
In his reply, dated February 7, 2007, Lokayukta's Justice Santosh Hegde wrote,"... the Government will have to make further efforts to enquire and find out the loss if any...".
The corruption watchdog had serious doubts about the operations. Hegde wrote, "... there is a reason enough to find out why the bank indulged in such printing of stamp papers which was stopped by the government after the Telgi scam."
However, from 2007 to date, the government has remained strangely quiet.
SBM version
When MiD DAY contacted SBM's Assistant General Manager (Government Business Department) Dinakar Kamath, he said: "We have no ready data, and no statement, so we don't have ready information about how many sheets we sell in a month."
He said the bank had 315 branches all over Karnataka, and therefore it was difficult to say how many stamp papers were sold.
"We can inform all our branches and collect the information and provide details," he said.
The bank prints sheets in the denominations of Rs 5, 10, 50, and 100, and charges Rs 5 extra for each paper.
The government has to pay 1 per cent as commission on the volume of stamp papers sold. "But due to some misunderstanding, we are not getting the commission. We will be getting it soon," he said.
He said the bank was remitting money in the government's treasury account daily. "We are printing the papers on behalf of the government," he said.
The bank has "full authority" to print and sell stamp papers, Kamath asserted. He also said the bank maintained good records and had received no complaints onu00a0u00a0u00a0 fraud, or reconciliation to date.
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