Acting on a petition by Kotak Mahindra Bank, Justice Sanjib Banerjee has directed the Registrar of Insolvency — which has its office in the High Court — and the official assignee not to accept any insolvency application till further orders.

Kotak submitted documents before the court to claim that over 1,000 individuals have been declared insolvent in the last three years, which meant that these people would not have to repay bank loans or make credit card payments.

Representing private banks like ABN Amro, ICICI, HDFC and Standard Chartered, Counsel Paritosh Sinha submitted before the court that a cartel had been formed in West Bengal where some lawyers and agents are assuring relief through court orders on fees based on percentage of the claim amount.