The directions were issued by chief justice M B Shah and justice S Radhakrishnan on a petition filed by Devidas Thandge, former director of SSIIL, urging for a thorough probe into the affairs of the parent company and repayment of public deposits collected by it.

The court also directed Abhay Sinha, absconding accused and managing director of Tejasvi Investment Company, sister concern of SSIIL, to surrender himself before state CID in Pune on November 23 at 1130 hours.

In view of the complaint from CID that Sinha was not coming forward to co-operate with investigations, the judges ordered his arrest even if he got anticipatory bail from any court.

The court had ordered Economic Offences Wing of Mumbai police to probe thematter on June 24 last. Later, all such offences registered against these companies were transferred to CID.

Eleven offences have been registered against Sanjeevani and its sister concerns in various districts of the state. These companies had offices in Goa and Karnataka also.

The founder of the parent company, Manohar Ramdhan Mule, had committed suicide on August 10, 1995. Janardhan Warale, who took over from him, also committed suicide on the same day two years later.

The counsel for Reserve Bank of India, Dhananjay Chandrachud, explaining the modus operandi, informed the court that the apex bank had banned SSIIL on march 3, 1995, from collecting funds from the public. Thereafter SSIIL closed down but its sister concerns sprung up. Thus the money was siphoned off from the parent company.

The CID filed a report before the court giving details of attachment of property worth Rs 3.5 crore in this case.

Among the sister concerns of SSIIL allegedly involved in the scam are Tejasvi Investment Company,Bharari Savings and Investment Finance Ltd, Silver Investment, Yuva Housing Development, Sahyadri Investment, Inorg Green Field, Sakshi Investment, Shivam Savings and Investment India and Shubham Savings and Investment Company.

Of these, Tejasvi Investment Co had a share capital of Rs 14.71 lakh and has earned a profit of Rs 14.77 lakh. Its public deposits outstanding as on date are to the order of Rs 266.80 lakh. Besides, it had obtained Rs 201.91 lakh from the parent company in complete violation of rules and merely on the basis of a no-objection letter from SSIIL.

The court came down heavily on the petitioner because it was brought to its notice that he too was a former director of the parent company and had later floated a sister concern in the name and style of Barari Savings and Investments Ltd. ``You are a bird of the same feather and hence we order a probe into the affairs of your company as well,'' the judges ordered.