The Delhi High Court Tuesday directed the CBI to maintain status quo on the criminal proceedings initiated against the agency's Special Director Rakesh Asthana and a trial court sent an arrested mid-level officer facing bribery charges to seven-day remand, as the unprecedented internecine battle between the two top officers of the CBI entered the judicial arena.
During the court hearing, the CBI also submitted that charges of extortion and forgery were added against Asthana and Devender Singh, a Deputy Superintendent police of CBI who was arrested Monday by the agency for allegedly taking bribe and falsification of records.
The high-voltage drama involving Asthana and his boss Alok Verma, the CBI Director, also provided more fodder to the Congress and other opposition parties to target the Centre which was accused of "destroying the country's institutions".
After Asthana approached the Delhi High Court seeking quashing of the agency's FIR against him, a single judge bench directed the CBI to maintain status quo on the criminal proceedings initiated against him till October 29, the next date of hearing, but clarified there was no stay on the ongoing probe considering the nature and gravity of the case.
On a day of fast paced developments, Devender Singh moved the Delhi High Court seeking quashing of the FIR against him and handing over of documents relating to the case.
This was followed by a similar petition in the high court by Asthana, a Gujarat cadre IPS officer, who has been continuously writing to the anti-corruption watchdog, Central Vigiliance Commission, on alleged interference of the CBI Director in his probe in the case related to controversial meat exporter Moin Qureshi.
Justice Najmi Waziri issued notices and sought responses of the probe agency and its Director Verma as also Joint Director A K Sharma on both the petitions.
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The notice was also issued to Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), which is the administrative arm for the CBI and whose permission is required to be taken for probes against bureaucrats.
The counsel for Asthana, whose name figures in the CBI FIR, pointed out before Justice Waziri that a case had been registered against the special Director based on a statement of an accused and said there is a great amount of "sorrow". However, the judge said this was not the stage to examine the allegation of malafide.
CBI's counsel said the FIR was registered under the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act and the IPC, including criminal conspiracy, and that they have added more sections against the accused relating to extortion and forgery.
The court turned down the plea of Asthana's counsel seeking to stay further proceedings in the matter.
"Nothing will happen. Tomorrow is Maharishi Valmiki's birthday, kuch nahi hoga (nothing will happen)," the judge said and asked the CBI not to disturb the equilibrium today.
Kumar, earlier the investigating officer in a case involving meat exporter Moin Qureshi, was arrested on the allegations of forgery in recording the statement of businessman Sathish Sana, who is alleged to have paid bribe to get relief in the case.
He was produced before the designated CBI court which sent him to CBI's remand for seven days.
The court termed the offence as "grave" and noted that there were serious allegations about the involvement of public servants including accused, who has been charged by the agency of being a part of an extortion racket being run in the garb of investigation.
The court also said no permission from the government was required under section 17-A in this case.
The newly-inserted section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act makes it mandatory to have an approval from the government for carrying out any investigation into any offence alleged to have been committed by a public servant.
During the proceedings, the agency also informed the court that it has added some fresh sections -- 384 (punishment for extortion), 388 (extortion by threat of accusation of an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life), 389 (putting person in fear of accusation of offence, in order to commit extortion), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) -- of the IPC in its FIR.
The CBI occuped centrestage in the briefings and tweets of the opposition parties who lashed out at the Centre for failing to take control of the situation.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is responsible for "dismantling, denigrating and destroying" CBI and accused him of direct interference in the functioning of the CBI.
There was no immediate reaction from the Prime Minister's Office(PMO) to the allegations.
Surjewala also accused the Centre of eroding the independence and credibility of institutions like the CBI, ED and others.
CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury alleged the BJP was damaging and destroying the country's institutions and in a series of tweets, he said the BJP's "nefarious" design needed to be defeated.
NCP Chief Sharad Pawar said if the present government was effective, there would not have been bribery charges at the highest level in the CBI. "He(the prime minister) should act," he said in Mumbai.