The Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation has submitted a report to Chief Justice Manoj Sharma recommending the immediate establishment of dedicated benches to hear cooperative fraud cases in district courts with heavy caseloads.

The ministry forwarded the recommendation to the Supreme Court after receiving a report from a task force formed to study the issue.

The task force was constituted after the Supreme Court, in a directive order issued on January 15, instructed the ministry to examine the feasibility of creating dedicated benches in district courts handling a large number of cooperative fraud cases and to implement its findings.

Highlighting the government’s priority to address the crisis in the cooperative sector, Minister Pratibha Rawal, accompanied by members of the task force, handed over the report to Chief Justice Sharma at the Supreme Court.

The report describes cooperative fraud as a serious socio-economic crime rather than ordinary fraud, saying such offences affect the lives, property and financial security of large numbers of people while undermining the country’s financial system. It concludes that dedicated benches are necessary to ensure the swift and effective disposal of such cases.

According to the report, lengthy court proceedings delay justice, prevent victims from recovering their deposits, and increase the risk of offenders evading accountability.

The report says dedicated benches would help deliver timely justice to victims, restore public confidence in the cooperative sector and strengthen financial governance.