The Madras High Court Bench here on Tuesday sought the response of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to a petition filed by a complainant in an illegal Chinese crackers sale case seeking a direction to the Central investigating agency to expedite the probe and file a final report before the lower court concerned within a stipulated time.
Passing interim orders on the petition filed by A. Muthukrishnan of Sivakasi in Virudhunagar district, Justice P. Devadass directed the Deputy Superintendent of Police, CBI, Anti-Corruption Branch, Chennai, to file a status report on the investigation conducted so far after a Division Bench of the High Court transferred the probe to the Central agency on September 25, 2014.
The petitioner pointed out that a Division Bench of Justices N. Kirubakaran and S. Vaidyanathan had ordered CBI probe into seizure of banned Chinese crackers in Sivakasi on May 17, 2014 while disposing of a public interest litigation petition filed by him accusing the authorities of being mute spectators to illegal infusion of Chinese crackers in the Indian market.
Then, taking serious note of the issue, the Division Bench had also directed the Centre to conduct raids across the country and seize Chinese crackers that had been imported clandestinely owing to the “slackness” in vigil at ports, airports and border checkpoints and the “absence of coordination between different government departments”.
Shocked at the submission of Thoothukudi port officials that it was not feasible for them to examine every other consignment imported through the port, the Division Bench had said: “As the prohibited crackers are able to creep into India without authorisation, there is every likelihood of even dangerous explosive materials coming in, endangering lives, property and most importantly the security of the nation.
“The Customs authorities and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) are directed to take all possible steps to check, detect and prevent the illegal imports causing danger to our economy and safety of children. Every officer in the entry points should be duty-conscious and vigilant to prevent smuggling of prohibited items. They should discharge their duties in accordance with law and with patriotism.”
