The Supreme Court on Monday allowed Anil Kumar Sinha, the new CBI Director, to take charge of the investigation and prosecution in the 2G Spectrum scam cases.
The premier agency had suffered a major blow when a Bench led by Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu last month ordered the former CBI chief Ranjit Sinha to stay away from the 2G cases on finding allegations that he “attempted to save” accused persons and “derail” the investigation “prima facie credible.”
Representing the CBI, senior advocate K.K. Venugopal informed the Chief Justice’s Bench that the new Director was not barred from taking over the 2G cases.
‘Modify order’Mr. Venugopal asked the Bench to modify its earlier order, saying that Mr. Ranjit Sinha has already retired.
The court’s November 20 order, directing Mr. Ranjit Sinha to not “interfere” further in the 2G cases, came a few days before his retirement early this month.
The court had not elaborated on its decision asking him to stay away, observing that its self-imposed restraint was for the sake of the CBI’s reputation and the faith of the public in the agency.
The order had come on the basis of a petition filed by NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation, through its counsel Prashant Bhushan, against the then CBI chief in August.
It had accused Mr. Ranjit Sinha of “preventing” the filing of a charge sheet 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.
