The Congress today accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "exerting pressure" on the CBI, a day after the agency opposed the PIL against its decision not to challenge a lower court order discharging BJP chief Amit Shah in the Sohrabuddin Shaikh alleged fake encounter case.
Congress spokesperson RPN Singh alleged that the Centre was out to defeat the ends of justice by "misusing" CBI as a "captive puppet", which, the opposition party said is trying to scuttle a Public Interest Litigation(PIL) in the case against Shah allegedly under pressure from the prime minister and his office.
"The CBI functions under the Ministry of Personnel, which works directly under Prime Minister's Office. Why is the prime minister continuously exerting pressure on the CBI and why he does not want the truth to come out? We are asking this question and people of the country want to know this," he told reporters. Singh, however, did not elaborate beyond levelling the allegation against the Modi government.
A PIL filed by the Bombay Lawyers Association in the Bombay High Court last week, termed as "illegal, arbitrary and malafide" the CBI's action of not challenging the December 30, 2014 order of a special CBI court in Mumbai discharging Shah.
"We are opposing the petition. We also have an issue on the maintainability of the petition. The discharge order is of December 2014...there is an issue of limitations," CBI counsel Anil Singh told the high court yesterday.
Singh also alleged, "the CBIs (in)actions in the case involving Amit Shah is a textbook case of unwarranted and illegal interference by PM in the process of law."
"Modi, who gave sermons to the nation on the impartiality and credibility of the agencies, is wearing blinkers when it came to institution of an appeal against the discharge of BJPs National President Amit Shah. Why?," he asked.
Singh said by extension of legal jurisprudence, special CBI judge BH Loyas mysterious death is closely linked with the fake encounter case, as the family of the judge has come out with serious allegations in connection with the case.
Judge Loya had been hearing the fake encounter case. The Supreme Court on Monday decided to take up all petitions relating to Loya's death.
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