A Division Bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice G.S. Kulkarni told the ACB that “the material placed before us is sufficient to file an FIR.”
Justice Shah told the ACB that the court “never said you cannot register an FIR.” and directed it to go ahead if there was a prime facie case.
Maharashtra’s Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) lawyer Ashutosh Kumbakoni sought six weeks for the agency to submit its final inquiry report in respect of two of nine allegations. “We want to tie up a few loose ends before we file an FIR. We want one and a half months’ time to make a concrete case,” he said.
Granting the ACB’s request, the Bombay High Court directed it to file a final report on June 15.
The Enforcement Directorate, which is probing the money laundering allegations, has also submitted its report, but told the court it could not take any further action till the ACB registered an FIR. The agency drew the court’s attention to “something unusual” comprising “single-name transactions” of huge amounts.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Anjali Damania, who filed the public interest litigation petition, urged the court to provide a deterrent to investigative agencies from delaying the matter.
The court has posted the matter for hearing on June 18.
