Supreme Court Adjourns Punjab Plea Challenging CBI Probe Against CM Bhagwant Mann's OSD Till Tomorrow

The Supreme Court today(October 8) adjourned till tomorrow the plea filed by the Punjab Government challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court's order directing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register a criminal case and probe allegations of corruption linked to the office of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

The matter was listed before a bench comprising Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Sheel Nagu. As soon as the matter was taken, Justice Datta said that the matter will be taken tomorrow, as the file reached Justice Nagu late.

When Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, for the State, requested that an interim order be passed against precipitative steps, Justice Datta asked how can it be passed when the other Judge did not get the opportunity to study the files.

The matter was accordingly listed tomorrow.

The State government filed the Special Leave Petition (SLP), challenging the order passed by the High Court on Monday.

On Tuesday, Singh had mentioned the matter before the Chief Justice of India seeking urgent listing. Singh had then claimed that the case was politically motivated, and was being pursued only since the State is going for elections soon.

Singh had submitted before the CJI that the High Court passed the direction on the ground that the State Police did not act on the information furnished by the Enforcement Directorate in terms of Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. He contended that the police need to act only if the information discloses a cognizable offence, and claimed that the High Court direction was contrary to the Supreme Court's judgment in Vijay Madanlal Chaudhary.

The CJI, while turning down the request for same day listing, agreed to list the matter on Thursday.

A High Court bench comprising Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor had on Monday directed the CBI to register a criminal case into allegations concerning Rajbir Singh Ghuman, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann. It further directed the State of Punjab and the Punjab Police to provide the CBI with all assistance to conduct a fair investigation.

The directions were passed while hearing a Public Interest Litigation filed by advocate Nikhil Saraf. The PIL alleged that the Punjab Police had failed to take appropriate action despite communications from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seeking a probe into allegations against Ghuman. According to the submissions before the High Court, the ED had flagged allegations involving one Nitin Gohal, who allegedly acted as an intermediary for persons seeking various favours from the Punjab government.

The allegations relate, among other things, to facilitating transfers, providing access to confidential government documents, facilitating arms licences and securing other benefits. The High Court, after considering the material placed before it, directed the CBI to register a criminal case and investigate the allegations. The Punjab government's challenge before the Supreme Court seeks to overturn the High Court's direction for a CBI investigation.