A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Wednesday dismissed a writ petition filed by Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the solar scam cases.
Dismissing the petition, the Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice A.M. Shaffique observed that all the solar scam cases were being considered by a competent court. That apart, a judicial commission was inquiring into the cases as well. Therefore, a directive to the CBI to take over the cases was not required.
Referring to the contention of the petitioner that there was material to indicate that certain serious offences had not been slapped against the accused, the court said that this was not a stage at which the court could interfere with the trial of the cases. In these circumstances, a request for a CBI probe could not be granted at this point of time, the court observed.
The Leader of the Opposition alleged in his petition that the investigation was not being conducted into solar scam cases in a fair and impartial manner.
Govt. stance
Advocate General K.P. Dandapani submitted that all accused in the cases were rounded up and appropriate steps had been taken to complete the probe within a time frame. In fact, on a request of the Leader of the Opposition, an inquiry commission had been appointed.
As many as 21 persons, including Mr. Achuthanandan, had deposed before the commission. So, there was no necessity to entrust the investigation with the CBI, he submitted.
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