Court asks CBI DIG to appear before it in corruption case on Tuesday

A court here has sought the presence of a CBI deputy inspector general (DIG) and an investigating officer (IO) on Tuesday, following an allegation that filing of a supplementary chargesheet in a corruption case was deliberately being delayed by the agency.

Special CBI Judge Kamini Lau took note of the submissions of the complainant, Chetan Prakash Sharma, and said the allegations were "serious" and raised questions on the fairness of the investigation as well as the "credibility and independence of the Central Bureau of Investigation".

"The allegations made before this court by the complainant are serious and raise questions on the fairness of investigation, credibility and independence of the investigating agency (CBI) and upon the correctness of the reports being furnished to this court and to the Delhi High Court...

"The DIG concerned and the IO (are directed) to appear, along with the probe file, for perusal of this court on October 30," the court said.

The court was told by the complainant that the initial IO in the case had challenged his transfer order before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), alleging that he was transferred since he had recommended filing a chargesheet against an assistant commissioner of police (ACP) of the Delhi Police and a Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) councillor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), along with others, in the case.

The complainant further told the court that the new IO was delaying the filing of the chargesheet on false grounds.

The corruption case was filed on a direction from the high court after taking note of a sting operation.