New Delhi, Oct 9 (IANS) : Supreme Court judge, Justice Sheel Nagu, on Friday recused himself from hearing the Punjab government’s plea challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s order directing a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into allegations of corruption involving Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Rajvir Ghuman and others.
A Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu was to hear the matter when Justice Datta observed that the case could not be heard by Justice Nagu.
The Justice Datta-led Bench said it would sign an order directing that the matter be placed before the Chief Justice of India (CJI) for the constitution of another Bench.
CJI Surya Kant, who is the master of the roster, will constitute a fresh Bench to hear the Punjab government’s plea.
The development comes a day after the Supreme Court adjourned the hearing on the Punjab government’s plea till Friday, after Justice Datta said the case file had reached the Bench late and Justice Nagu had not had the opportunity to examine the papers.
During Thursday’s hearing, senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for the Punjab government, had sought protection against any precipitative action in the meantime. However, the Justice Datta-led Bench questioned how it could pass an interim order without examining the case file. “When we haven’t read the file, how can we?” it had remarked.
The Punjab government has challenged the High Court’s October 5 order directing the CBI to take over the investigation into allegations of corruption arising from three letters written by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav.
The High Court had directed the CBI to register a case and submit a status report within two months, while asking the Punjab government and police to extend full cooperation to the central investigating agency.
The ED had claimed that Ghuman and his associates, Nitin Gohal and Bir Devinder, were interfering in administrative transfers and postings as well as government tenders, and had called for the registration of an FIR.
After the Punjab Police did not register an FIR on the basis of the ED’s communications, advocate Nikhil Saraf approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court through a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), seeking an independent probe by the CBI.
The petition alleged that the communications contained serious allegations concerning persons linked to the Punjab Chief Minister’s Office and sought a fair investigation free from the influence of the Punjab Police and Punjab Vigilance.
The CBI has already registered an FIR in the matter and initiated an investigation pursuant to the High Court’s directions.
The agency also conducted searches at eight locations across Chandigarh and Punjab on Tuesday, including the Chief Minister’s camp office in Chandigarh and premises linked to Ghuman in Sangrur and Mohali. On Wednesday, Ghuman and other associates were summoned to appear before the CBI’s Chandigarh office in connection with the probe.
