CBI moves HC against order to defreeze a firm's bank accounts

CBI today approached Delhi High Court seeking stay of a trial court order defreezing two bank accounts of a firm being probed by it in a graft case allegedly involving Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's principal secretary Rajendra Kumar.
The agency, which has rushed to the high court for urgent listing of the appeal for relief, failed to get any interim order as the matter could not be taken up for hearing.
The CBI got the matter listed after mentioning it before a bench of justices B D Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva, who allowed it to be taken up today.
The matter was listed before Justice P S Teji, who refused to take it up, saying he cannot hear it today and listed the matter for April 18.

The CBI, through its standing counsel Sonia Mathur, moved against April 5 decision of a magisterial court which has castigated the agency for "flouting" procedures with impunity and being "conspicuously ambiguous" in the investigation into corruption allegations against Kumar and others.
CBI submitted that the investigation is at crucial stage and the trial court's order at this stage is bad in law.

It also said that they have evidence to establish that the firm, M/S Endeavour Systems Pvt Ltd (ESPL), was favoured.
Special CBI judge Ajay Kumar made these observations while ordering defreezing of two bank accounts of ESPL, which was alleged to have received contracts from Kumar, who, according to the agency's charges, had favoured it by abusing his official position.

The CBI had alleged that Kumar played an "active role in the process of promising and facilitating" award of tender to a "pre-determined party" -- ESPL -- due to extraneous considerations.
The court had noted that the CBI, neither in its reply
nor during the arguments, could point to any entry in the accounts which suggested that huge bribe amounts were received in it prior to December 18, 2015.
The trial court order had come on a plea moved by the firm seeking defreezing of its two bank accounts.
While allowing the plea, the special court noted that CBI could not explain what were the illegal commissions obtained in these accounts by the company.

CBI had registered a case against Kumar and others on the allegations against the officer that he had abused his official position by favouring the firm in the last few years in getting tenders from Delhi government departments.
Kumar has been booked under section 120-B of IPC (criminal conspiracy), and under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act for allegedly favouring the company in five contracts worth Rs 9.5 crore during 2007-14.
Separately, the special court had also urged Delhi High Court to initiate "contempt of court" proceedings against some CBI officials, including the investigating officer in this case.

The special judge sent a reference to the high court to initiate contempt of court proceedings againstDeputy Suprintendent of Police of CBI, Jayant Kashmiri and agency other officials.