BackSC asks CBI director Ranjit Sinha to respond to charges
Sinha is asked to respond to charges related to CBI's probe of suspected irregularities in the coal mine allocations
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday asked Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director Ranjit Sinha to respond to allegations against him related to the agency’s probe of suspected irregularities in the allocation of captive coal fields.
A bench comprising chief justice R.M. Lodha and justices Madan B. Lokur and Kurian Joseph were hearing CBI’s and the central government’s response to the allegations raised by non-profit Common Cause, which was represented by lawyer Prashant Bhushan.
Bhushan told the court that Sinha had met a suspected hawala dealer, Moin Qureshi, about 90 times in 15 months at CBI director’s official residence. Qureshi is being investigated by the income-tax department. Hawala is a traditional but illegal system of transferring money used in Arab countries and South Asia.
Sinha should recuse himself from the coal mine allocation investigation and prosecution, Bhushan said. A special investigation team should probe alleged abuse of power by Sinha, he said.
Although Sinha hadn’t been impleaded in the case yet, his lawyer Vikas Singh opposed the allegations which he said were “scandalous." Lodha responded by saying that he could not “hijack" the proceedings.
Singh also represents Sinha in a case related to suspected irregularities in the 2008 allocation of 2G spectrum and licences. Petitioners in that matter have put forward a visitors book from Sinha’s residence to show he met with suspects in that case; the book also revealed that Sinha met frequently with Qureshi.
The court asked CBI not to take any “precipitate action" in the coal blocks case, saying all chargesheets, registered cases and closures be put on hold until 17 October, when the case will be heard next. A new bench will be constituted for these hearings as Lodha retires on 27 September.
“Don’t take any precipitate action. You wait till the matter is taken up by the bench for next hearing and don’t take any final decision on any case," the bench told CBI officials.
CBI, represented by lawyer Amarendra Sharan, submitted that the allegations against Sinha had nothing to do with the coal block case.
The court asked the government to submit before it an appraisal report being prepared by the income-tax department with regard to its investigation of Qureshi before the next date of hearing.
Common Cause has filed an application saying: “The appraisal report goes into the details of the illegal operations of Mr. Qureshi and his dealings with various individuals. According to the information received from trustworthy and reliable sources by the petitioners’ counsel, the said appraisal report also covers in some detail the dealings of Mr. Qureshi with Mr. Ranjit Sinha, Director, CBI."
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