CBI rebuts Rajendra Kumar's charge

The CBI today strongly rebutted the allegations of suspended IAS officer Rajendra Kumar, former Principal Secretary to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, that the agency was misusing CrPC provisions by continuing a probe against him despite having filed a charge sheet.
Terming the allegations as "false, baseless and misleading", CBI Press Information Officer R K Gaur said, in a statement, that further investigation has been kept open with regard to two specific issues relating to suspicious movement of funds.
"Further investigation has been kept open with regard to two specific issues relating to suspicious movement of funds as per provisions of law under due intimation to the Court as per provisions of Section 173(8) CrPC," Gaur said.

Quoting the CrPC section, he said it is not a legally tenable proposition that Section 173(8) CrPC permits further investigation after filing charge sheet only when "entirely new evidence comes".
"The matter is presently sub-judice and Shri Rajendra Kumar is having all the opportunity available as per law to defend himself in the Court," he said.
Yesterday, in a blogpost, Kumar had alleged that the CBI was misusing the provisions of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to continue to put pressure on people, whom they have implicated along with him in the case. Else, they would have filed the charge sheet only after completing the investigation and after gathering all the evidence required.

"It is clear that they understand that the charge sheet filed is going to fail and therefore, the only way to continue to threaten the people is to misuse the provisions of Criminal Procedure Code," Kumar had written.

He had said that while Section 173(8) of the CrPC permits further investigation after the filing of charge sheet, it is intended to be used when "entirely new evidence comes".
"...And that too never simultaneously when charge sheet has just been filed under Section 173(2)," Kumar, who recently stated his desire to join a political party, wrote.
In the CBI charge sheet, filed in December last year, it has been alleged that the accused persons had entered into a criminal conspiracy and caused a loss of Rs 12 crore to the Delhi government in award of contracts between 2007 and 2015.

The 1989-batch IAS officer has been charged with alleged criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery under Indian Penal Code besides provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act along with eight others and Endeavour Systems Private Limited, the CBI had said.