Rose Valley Refund Deadline Set by Calcutta High Court: Fresh Questions Over Fate of Depositors Money and Attached Properties in Tripura
By Our Correspondent
Agartala, September 30, 2026
At a time when the Rose Valley chit-fund issue has again become a subject of intense political debate in Tripura, with rival political parties trading allegations over the company’s activities and responsibility for the losses suffered by depositors, a fresh intervention by the Calcutta High Court has brought the focus back to the central issue: when will the lawful depositors actually get their money back?
The Calcutta High Court has expressed serious concern over the delay in the refund process and directed that the money due to eligible Rose Valley depositors be returned by February 28, 2027. The court has also required the concerned committee to submit a monthly compliance report, while directing the Enforcement Directorate to identify Rose Valley properties that have not yet been attached and take appropriate steps. The court's latest directions were reported on September 29.
The development is significant for Tripura because a substantial number of Rose Valley depositors in the state have been waiting for years for repayment, while several properties connected with the company have been attached under proceedings initiated by the state authorities.
According to reports on the latest proceedings, the Division Bench of Justice Rajarshee Bharadwaj and Justice Sudip Dev expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of the refund exercise. The court observed that the principal purpose of the Rose Valley Assets Disposal Committee was to facilitate the disposal of the company's assets and return the recovered money to the depositors.
The court has now fixed February 28, 2027 as the deadline for completing the refund process and directed the committee to place monthly compliance reports before it. The Enforcement Directorate has also been asked to identify properties that have escaped attachment so that further action can be taken.
The latest direction comes against the backdrop of an already lengthy refund process. The Assets Disposal Committee was constituted by the Calcutta High Court in 2015 to facilitate repayment to Rose Valley investors through disposal of the group's assets. In March 2025, an ED court also directed restitution of Rs.332.76 crore to lawful Rose Valley investors across Odisha, West Bengal, Assam and Tripura.
The situation in Tripura has its own legal and administrative history.
The Tripura High Court has dealt with Rose Valley's properties and depositor-related proceedings on several occasions. In June 2019, in a case involving Rose Valley properties near Rabindra Satabarshiki Bhawan in Agartala, the High Court permitted the State to use the property in public interest, free of cost, but expressly made such use subject to the decision of the Designated Court in the pending proceedings under the Tripura Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act, 2000.
A government report subsequently recorded the handing over and taking over of Rose Valley properties near Rabindra Satabarshiki Bhawan for public use pursuant to the High Court's order.
The Tripura High Court had also previously dealt with concerns regarding the condition and custody of attached Rose Valley properties. In a July 2019 proceeding, the court noted a submission that attached properties had remained unused and were suffering damage and natural decay, and directed the authorities to produce inventories and details concerning the security and care of the properties.
The Tripura Protection of Interests of Depositors in Financial Establishments Act provides the state government with powers to attach money and properties of financial establishments where depositors' interests are at risk.
In its 2021 judgment concerning Rose Valley Hotel and Entertainment Ltd., the Tripura High Court reproduced the relevant statutory provisions and noted that the law permits attachment where a financial establishment has failed to return deposits after maturity or on demand, or where the government has reason to believe that the establishment is acting in a manner detrimental to depositors' interests.
This creates a fundamental public-interest question in Tripura: once properties have been attached for the protection of depositors, what is the mechanism and timeline for converting those assets into funds and distributing the money among the lawful claimants?
The issue is not entirely dormant in Tripura.
In June 2025, the Tripura High Court directed the state government to ensure the fair and early distribution of money recovered from dubious chit-fund and non-banking financial companies. The court was also asked to consider a government scheme for distribution of approximately Rs.11 crore recovered from entities including Rose Valley, Saradha and Waris.
Yet, reports continued to highlight that many Rose Valley depositors in Tripura were still waiting for repayment.
A January 2026 report noted that while refund activity had progressed in West Bengal, depositors in Tripura were still awaiting substantial relief. It also reported that the Rose Valley Assets Disposal Committee had begun another round of refunds involving nearly Rs.29.28 crore to eligible investors whose claims had been found correct and complete.
The renewed court intervention also comes at a politically sensitive moment in Tripura.
Political parties have repeatedly accused one another over the Rose Valley episode, including allegations concerning who facilitated the company's expansion, who benefited politically and who should be held responsible for the losses suffered by depositors. But no political parties or its leadership are taking any appropriate legal action against those responsible to refunds the depositors money.
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