The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to join investigation by the CBI in the disproportionate assets case registered against him, while directing the premier investigating agency not to arrest him as he was willing to cooperate with it.
With these directions, the Bench of Justice Pratibha Rani disposed of the CBI’s application seeking vacation of Himachal Pradesh High Court's interim order of October 1, 2015 restraining it from arresting, interrogating or filing a charge sheet against Mr. Singh in the case.
As Mr. Singh’s counsel Kapil Sibal told the court that his client was willing to join the probe, the court asked him to provide Mr. Singh’s personal mobile number to the CBI and said he would join the probe whenever he is called by the Investigating Officer.
The court said that Mr. Singh need not be subjected to custodial interrogation and did not accept the CBI’s request for vacating the Himachal High Court’s interim order, while observing that there was no need for this in the light of Mr. Singh's assurance.
Additional Solicitor-General P.S. Patwalia, appearing for the CBI, said the investigating agency should be given a free hand to probe the matter.
He said Mr. Singh should join the investigation, as the case against him would not stand if he could show that that the alleged money was from his known sources of income.
The court said that the CBI had filed the charge sheet without arresting the accused in many of such cases. In this case, the accused was saying that he would join the investigation, said the court.
The CBI's preliminary enquiry had found that Mr. Singh, while serving as a Union Minister during 2009 to 2012, had allegedly accumulated assets worth Rs.6.03 crore in his name and in the name of his family members, which were disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Mr. Singh's writ petition seeking quashing of the first information report registered against him has been transferred from the Himachal Pradesh High Court to Delhi High Court on the Supreme Court’s direction.
Meanwhile, a Division Bench of the High Court, comprising Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath, issued notice to the Enforcement Directorate on a petition moved by Mr. Singh’s daughter Aparajita Kumari and son Vikramaditya Singh seeking quashing of ED’s March 23 order attaching their properties in a money laundering case.
No interim stay
However, the court refused to grant any interim stay on the ED's order or further proceedings and posted the case for hearing on April 18, asking the ED to file its reply before that date.
The petitioners contended that the ED had passed the order arbitrarily without having any authority to initiate attachment proceedings.
Court tells counsel to provide Mr. Singh’s personal mobile number to the CBI
