Two officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), whose transfers have been approved under the interim Director, M. Nageswara Rao, plan to approach the Supreme Court for relief.
It is learnt that the officials have approached a lawyer and discussed their case for preparing a petition. They may also allege contempt of court, following the interim CBI chief’s order declaring all the directions issued under Alok Kumar Verma as “non est”.
The new order released on Friday added that “all actions in pursuance thereof by all concerned are also hereby declared as null and void. In other words, status-quo ante as on January 8, 2019, stands restored”.
Coal scam probe
However, reacting to a news report alleging that the agency also reversed Mr. Verma’s orders for initiating action against an IAS official in a coal scam case, the CBI on Saturday maintained that it was factually not correct.
“It is stated that the orders issued by the agency are only with respect to the transfers of officers alone, and nothing else,” it said.
The agency, in a statement, said the matters relating to coal block allocations cases were monitored by the Supreme Court and that the CBI submitted periodic status reports to the Court. “With reference to the specific case mentioned in the news item, the status report giving complete details and facts is being submitted to the Supreme Court, and what has been alluded to in the news item is denied as being factually incorrect,” it said.
Probes on track
The CBI also said: “Furthermore, there is no question of reversal of any decision taken with regard to investigations and inquiries”.
After Mr. Verma was removed as the CBI chief on the recommendation of the high-power committee, a series of fresh transfer and posting orders were issued. Among those allocated new assignments or transferred out were six Joint Director level officials, the agency’s chief spokesperson and several Deputy Director and Assistant Director level officials.
Plea against Rao’s posting
Advocate Prashant Bhushan has indicated the possibility of moving the Supreme Court challenging the legality of the appointment of Mr. Rao as the interim CBI Director without the prior approval of the high-powered committee chaired by the Prime Minister, as per Section 4A of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act
