The Delhi High Court on Wednesday allowed the CBI to keep the documents seized during raids at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s principal secretary Rajendra Kumar’s office, while quashing a trial court’s order, which had directed the investigating agency to return the papers.
The Bench of Justice P.S. Teji, allowing the appeal of the CBI, said the trial court had exceeded its jurisdiction and the order had “self-contradictory reasons”. The lower court had made some strong remarks in its order.
The CBI had contended in its appeal that the trial court had failed to appreciate that the Delhi government had already obtained photocopies of the seized documents. It termed the order of returning the documents “wholly misconceived”.
The CBI had raided Mr. Kumar’s office in Delhi Secretariat, on December 15, 2015, and registered a corruption case against him and others, while alleging that he had abused his official position to favour a private firm in getting tenders.
