Noting that the approach of the CBI officials was “disappointing” and “contemptuous”, a Delhi court on Thursday imposed a cost of ₹10,000 on the investigating agency for not responding to the court’s queries regarding a bank fraud case.
Special Judge Pulastya Pramachala in her order stated that on the last date of hearing on February 26, an application was filed by the Investigating Officer (IO) in the case, seeking time to submit written submission in compliance with directions given by the court through an order dated January 22.
The court said it has asked the CBI for reasons for “taking so much time” to respond to its queries raised by the court on January 22, to which the IO has replied that since the agency was waiting for a response from the sanctioning authority on their request sought under Section 17A of Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, it could not come up with a response.
“The approach of concerned officials of CBI, including the IO, is actually disappointing and contemptuous. They cannot ignore the directions of the court on the basis of their own sweet will and comfort, so as to come up with a response to the queries raised by this court at their convenience,” the order noted.
The court said that there seemed to be a “deliberate inaction” on the part of the IO and other concerned officials of CBI, “which cannot be appreciated by this court”.
“Irrespective of any response received from any sanctioning authority on the request letter of CBI under Section 17A of PC Act, CBI through its concerned official was duty-bound to respond to the queries raised by this court based on the present situation,” the order noted, adding that it was needless to say that more than sufficient time was given to come up with a response.
While imposing a cost of ₹10,000 on the CBI, the court said that this would be the last and final opportunity to file a response in a written format. The court further asked the Joint Director of the department concerned of CBI to take the required steps to maintain the decorum of orders passed by the court.
