Special court's Justice DK Deshmukh, ordered the release of Rs.650 crore to the Income Tax department and banks from the liquidated assets of late scamster Harshad Mehta's group.An Official said that, the ordered payment of Rs345.76 crore to Standard Chartered Bank and Rs259.65 crore to the State Bank of India (SBI).

Besides, Rs28.34 crore will go to the Income Tax department and another Rs16.25 crore to SBI Caps, totalling Rs650 crore, all coming from the attached accounts of the Harshad Mehta Group.“The payments will be released on an interim basis on undertakings to be provided by the receiving entities that the amounts will be brought back to the custodian, if ordered by the special court,” the official said.

The judge ordered the custodian to release the amount to Standard Chartered Bank only after a final court clearance and asked the bank to submit a resolution by the board of directors along with an undertaking from the bank.This is the second release of its kind to be made against the outstanding dues of the Harshad Mehta Group.