Special Court

(1) For the purposes of this Act, the Government may, with the concurrence of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Karnataka, by notification, constitute one or more Special Court consisting of a single judge not below the rank of a District and Sessions Judge for such area or areas or for such class or classes of cases. Provided that, if the Government is of the opinion that where cases pertaining to any financial establishment are spread over more than one District, the Government may, with concurrence of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Karnataka, by notification designate one Court of District or Sessions Judge as special Court to deal with all such cases pertaining to such financial establishment. (2) No Court including the Court constituted under the Presidency Towns Insolvency Act, 1909 [Act 3 of 1909] and the Provincial Insolvency Act, 1920, [Act 5 of 1920] other than the Special Court shall have jurisdiction in respect of any matter to which the provisions of this Act is invoked. (3) Any pending case in any other court in respect of which the provisions of this Act is invoked, shall stand transferred to the Designated Courts from the date of notification issued under sub-section (1). (4) When trying an offence under this Act, the Special Court may also try an offence, other than an offence under this Act, with which the accused may, under the Bharatiya Nagarika Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 be charged at the same trial. In section 11 of the principal Act, in sub-section (2),- (a) in clause (e) , the words “in the events of the money so realized is not sufficient to meet the entire deposit liability,” shall be omitted; (b) after clause (f), before Explanation, the following shall be inserted, namely:- “(g) depending upon the magnitude of the fraud wherever the Special Courts feel the need for a committee to be set up for the sake realisation of proceeds and payment to depositors, the special court may constitute such committees, on a case to case basis; (h) to utilize the e-auction platform for auction of the assets attached under this Act wherever felt necessary; (i) Utilise the services of empanelled agencies notified by the State Government under section 6 for valuation of assets and selling of assets for prospective buyers, forensic auditors and digital auditor for forensic audit of money trails; (j) to utilize the services of official liquidator appointed by the Central Government under section 359 of the Companies Act, 2013(Central Act 18 of 2013) and attached to High Courts wherever felt necessary; (k) to utilize the services of agencies empanelled by Security Exchange Board of India to assist the court for assessing the value of assets and selling the assets to the prospective buyers in accordance with law; (l) to utilize the services of the valuers approved by any Nationalised Bank for valuation of assets under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Securities Interest Act, 2002 (Central Act 54 of 2002) for valuation of the assets; and (m) pass an order expeditiously for sale of the depreciable movable assets provisionally attached to realise maximum value without allowing such assets to lose their value." In section 10 of the principal Act, in sub-section (4), for the words and figures, “the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973”, the words, figures and brackets, “The Bharatiya Nagarika Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Central Act 46 of 2023)”, shall be substituted.