In a relief to the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that there was no material available for filing a fresh FIR in the disproportionate assets case.
The CBI, in its counter-affidavit to a writ petition filed by Kamlesh Verma seeking a direction for filing a fresh FIR in the disproportionate assets case, said the apex court, after examining all the records, had quashed the earlier FIR.
Thereafter, the Income Tax department considered the matter and accepted Ms. Mayawati’s explanation and the order passed by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal was upheld by the Delhi High Court. “There is no other material available with the CBI to warrant registration of a fresh FIR,” the counter said.
The CBI also pointed out that the petitioner, who was only an intervenor, had filed a review petition against the quashing of the FIR and the apex court had rejected it. The petitioner had not produced any material apart from the one which was already examined by the apex court.
After the Supreme Court quashed the earlier FIR as illegal, “the material collected thereof does not exist in the form of evidence anymore for filing fresh FIR.” The CBI sought dismissal of the petition.
When the matter came up for further hearing before a Bench of Chief Justice R.M. Lodha and Justices Kurian Joseph and Rohinton Nariman, senior counsel Shanti Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner, explained to the court the genesis of the case.
Senior counsel K.K. Venugopal, appearing for Ms. Mayawati, sought time to reply to the petitioner’s averments. The Bench, while taking note of the CBI’s affidavit, granted three weeks’ time to Ms. Mayawati for filing a reply and three weeks for a rejoinder and directed that the matter be listed thereafter.
The petitioner contended that sufficient evidence had already been collected by the CBI and a charge sheet had been drawn against Ms. Mayawati but the agency was allowing her to go scot-free.
