Ex-Orissa HC judge interfering in graft case probe, claims CBI

The CBI today told a Delhi court that former Orissa High Court judge I M Quddusi, who is on bail in connection with a medical college graft case, was trying to meddle in the investigation.
The probe agency made the submission before Special Judge Manoj Jain in pursuance to a notice issued to it on the plea filed by Quddusi seeking court-monitored investigation into the alleged leakage of transcripts of conversations between him and two others in the media.
Quddusi was arrested last year on the charges of graft along with other accused persons but was later granted bail by a Delhi court.

In its reply filed before the court, the CBI said "the present application has been filed as a devise to gain knowledge about the contents of the case diary of the present case. It is humbly submitted that application of this nature, which is based purely on conjectures and newspaper reports, causes serious interference in the investigation."
It said that no preliminary enquiry was conducted in respect of the case in which the application was moved, which went to show that "the present application is a clear attempt at a fishing and roving inquiry to gain knowledge of what forms part of the case diary."

"Such an attempt on the part of the accused/applicant only interferes in the investigation and violates the basis on which concession of bail has been granted to him," the agency said.

The court posted the matter for hearing next week.
Some major dailies had published details of the purported transcript of the alleged conversation between three persons including Quddusi, claiming that their phones were tapped by the CBI.
The reports had spoken of conversations between Quddusi, a middleman and B P Yadav, owner of UP-based medical college, Prasad Education Trust.
Quddusi had on January 17 moved the court seeking a court monitored probe, alleging that the leaked conversation "was not even supplied to the accused but given to people outside the probe agency."

The application, filed on Quddusi's behalf by advocate Vijay Aggarwal, had said this gave rise to "grave suspicion and apprehension of interference of third parties into the investigation of the present matter".
In its reply, the CBI today said "it is most humbly submitted that even the prayers are in nature of a fishing and roving inquiry and every attempt is being made by the applicant to divert the energy and resources of the court as also the investigating agency to deal with misdirected applications like the present one."
It said the applicant (Quddusi) should seek a response from the media and not the CBI.

"There are numerous sources from which the alleged transcripts can be supplied to the media. Once the applicant chooses to question the media in an appropriate forum, it is for the media to reply to these allegations and not the CBI," the agency said.
"What has been published in media is for the newspaper owners to explain, if the reports are questioned before the appropriate authorities. If the applicant has material to justify breach of his constitutional rights under Article 21, it is humbly submitted that his remedy, if any, lies before a constitutional court," the CBI further said.
Quddusi, in his plea had said that "monitoring of the investigation is essential to find out as to whether the alleged conversations and preliminary enquiry report has been leaked by someone within the CBI or they have been stolen, which is essential so as to ensure that it does not become a 'Trial by Media' and ensure that administration of justice is not compromised by interference by third parties in the investigation of the matter."

It had also said the possibility of tampering of the documents leaked "cannot be ruled out, for which also inquiry is required to be conducted.