Order On Contempt Proceedings Against Cbi Chief Reserved

The Patna High Court yesterday reserved order on the contempt proceedings against Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director Joginder Singh for delaying filing of chargesheets in the Rs 950-crore fodder scam.

A division bench consisting of Justices S N Jha and S J Mukhopadhyay, monitoring the investigations into the scam, reserved the order after hearing solicitor-general K N Bhatt, appearing on behalf of Singh and CBI joint director (east), U N Biswas.

Biswas, who sought to explain the factual position on certain queries of the court on the directors order to him (Biswas) to withold prosecution in the case and reference of the matter to the attorney-general, submitted a chronology of facts.

He said D R Kartikeyan, special director (east and south), disposed of the files concerning the case with his comments on March 5. It reached the directors office on March 7.

Singh, who was away to Paris, returned to Delhi on March 9 and later sanctioned prosecution in the case on March 11.

Subsequently, Singh asked him to withold the prosecution to seek the attorney-generals opinion in the light of the Supreme Courts direction in regard to any differences of opinion among the officials, Biswas said. He said, the directors opinion in this connection was not malafide and not at all aimed at delaying the chargesheet in the case.

Bhatt, in his submission, said that the case was not truncated and there was no external or internal pressure on Singh to delay the chargesheet.

They are making their best efforts for fair and impartial probe even working on Saturday and Sunday, he said.

Bhatt urged the court to drop the contempt proceedings against Singh. Regarding the three months time sought by the CBI chief to complete investigations into the conspiracy angle of the scam, Biswas said the conspiracy runs through in all the 48 cases registered by the CBI in connection with the scam.

It is loot and plunder of state exchequer and we want to bring the investigations to a logical end, he said.

The hearing on the CBI plea on extension of time to complete investigation into the conspiracy angle of the case, however, remained inclusive.

The court fixed May 19 as the next day for hearing.