Rajeev Kumar was part of a team appointed to investigate the Saradha scam. (File)

Former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar failed to appear before the CBI on Saturday for questioning in the Saradha scam, officials said.

Mr Kumar had reportedly sought more time to appear before the investigating officer in the case but that request is yet to be accepted by the CBI, they said.

Sources said that the possibility of Mr Kumar's arrest cannot be ruled out, but no final decision has been taken yet.

After the Calcutta High Court withdrew his protection from arrest, the CBI on Friday served a notice to Mr Kumar, asking him to appear before the investigating team on Saturday.

Mr Kumar, who is currently the West Bengal CID Additional Director General, was part of a special investigation team set up by the state government to investigate the Saradha scam before the Supreme Court handed over the case to the CBI in 2014, along with other chit fund cases.

The Saradha group of companies allegedly duped lakhs of people to the tune of Rs 2,500 crore, promising higher rate of returns on their investments.

In May, the Supreme Court declined Mr Kumar's petition seeking extension of protection from arrest in the multi-crore scam.

Mr Kumar was granted protection from arrest on May 17 by the top court for seven days and he had filed a fresh petition seeking to restrain the CBI from taking any coercive action against him.

However, a vacation bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra had said Mr Kumar's plea was not "maintainable" as a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had already passed an order in the matter on May 17.

The bench, also comprising justices BR Gavai and Surya Kant, said that Mr Kumar can personally approach the Calcutta High Court or the trial court seeking relief in the case.

But on Friday, the Calcutta High Court vacated its interim order granting the former police commissioner protection from arrest. The court also rejected Mr Kumar's plea for cancellation of a CBI notice that sought his appearance for questioning in the case.