In a major blow to the CBI’s image, the Supreme Court on Thursday ordered CBI Director Ranjit Sinha to recuse himself from the multi-crore 2G spectrum scam inquiry and trial.
The court found “prima facie credible” the allegations that Mr. Sinha had “attempted to save” accused persons and “derail” the investigation.
A three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu ordered Mr. Sinha, who has just over 10 days to retire, to not “interfere” further in the 2G cases. Mr Sinha said he would abide by the court's order and refused to spell out his future course of action as he had not received a copy of the order. The court, however, did not elaborate on the reasons for Mr. Sinha’s removal from the cases. It said the self-imposed restraint was for the sake of the CBI’s reputation and the faith of the public in the country’s premier investigative agency.
The Bench also recalled a September 15 order asking advocate Prashant Bhushan to disclose the identity of the anonymous source who had leaked documents which led to allegations levelled against Mr. Sinha. Mr. Bhushan, representing NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation, had moved the Supreme Court against the CBI chief in August. It had accused him of “preventing” the filing of a chargesheet in the Aircel-Maxis deal, “weakening” the case against Reliance and 2G-accused Shahid Balwa and transferring a senior officer, Santosh Rastogi, out of the 2G probe.
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