The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Centre to issue a notification within three days for transferring to the CBI the probe into the suicide of Sadiq Batcha, a close aide of the former Telecom Minister, A. Raja, who has been chargesheeted in the 2G spectrum scam.
A Bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and A.K. Ganguly, after hearing Additional Solicitor-General Indira Jaising and others said: “In the facts and circumstances of the case, we direct the government to issue notification within three days transferring the investigation of the case to the CBI.”
Earlier the ASG submitted that the request for a CBI probe from the Tamil Nadu government was received on March 18 and the CBI had also expressed its willingness to take over the probe. It would take about a week's time for issuing the necessary notification, Ms. Jaising said.
The Bench was hearing an application filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation seeking a CBI probe into the mysterious death of Mr. Batcha on March 16. Counsel Prashant Bhushan pleaded for entrusting the case to the CBI, pointing out that already crucial time had been lost in the investigation. Mr. Batcha was the Managing Director of Greenhouse Promoters, which the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate suspected to be a front organisation of Mr. Raja.
The court rejected the plea for a week's time to issue the notification.
On Tuesday, the Bench will take up the issue of appointment of Public Prosecutor for the special court in the 2G case.
Senior counsel K.K. Venugopal, appearing for the CBI, favoured senior advocate Uday U. Lalit as the Public Prosecutor, but the Centre expressed certain reservations. The Bench will hear the Centre's views and decide the matter.
Keywords: CBI probe, Supreme Court, Sadiq Batcha, A. Raja aide
