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New Delhi, Nov 18 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a plea filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) seeking permission to proceed with a preliminary inquiry into alleged irregularities in appointments and promotions in the Jharkhand Assembly.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran’s bench rejected the central agency’s interim application, making it clear that no CBI investigation will be initiated in the case.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Jharkhand Assembly, argued that the proceedings were “politically motivated” and said, “Whenever such issues arise, the CBI jumps into the case without any reason.”
Sibal told the bench led by CJI Gavai that the top court has already stayed the investigation directed by the Jharkhand High Court, leaving no ground for the central agency to proceed further.
On the other hand, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, representing the CBI, said there were serious irregularities and the agency should be allowed to conduct the preliminary investigation.
Rejecting this argument, the Supreme Court said that the application is not maintainable. During the hearing, the top court made sharp remarks on the conduct of investigating agencies in politically sensitive cases and said, “Why do you use the agency for your political fight? In many cases, we have said that investigating agencies should not be misused.”
The controversy arose from a petition filed before the Jharkhand High Court by social activist Shiv Shankar Sharma, alleging large-scale illegal appointments in the assembly.
The plea claimed that, in 2018, the then governor had identified 30 points requiring action on alleged procedural violations, but no action was taken. In September 2024, the Jharkhand High Court directed the CBI to investigate, noting that the allegations were serious and involved “senior politicians and those holding very high public office such as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the State of Jharkhand in the past”.
“Since high officials of the State of Jharkhand are involved in holding various posts in the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly, which has come under report, it is not possible to conduct a proper investigation if the matter will be investigated by the State Police/State Agency,” the Jharkhand HC had said.
Challenging the order, the Jharkhand Assembly and the state government approached the Supreme Court, arguing that the Jharkhand High Court, without any strong justification, had bypassed the state’s investigative machinery and made the CBI the first agency to investigate.
After hearing the case in November 2024, the Supreme Court stayed the direction of the Jharkhand High Court and said that it will first decide whether the responsibility of investigation could have been handed over to the CBI in the initial stage or not.
–IANS
PDS/DPB