The West Bengal Protection of Interest of Depositors in Financial Establishments Bill, 2013, which was passed in the state legislative Assembly in the last week of April, has been sent back to the state by the central government as the latter has some queries, sources said.
The new Bill aims to crack down on sham deposit companies and was supposed to have retrospective effect. Sources said one of the queries of the Centre was about the retrospective effect.
When the bill was passed in the assembly, the CPI(M) and the Congress had questioned this clause. Disputing this clause, former assembly speaker and senior lawyer Hashim Abdul Halim had said that punishment could not be given to anyone by bringing in a new legislation with retrospective effect for a crime committed two years ago.