New Delhi, October 20
The Supreme Court, which is monitoring the CBI probe into the PF scam in Uttar Pradesh judiciary, today directed the investigating agency to get the viscera of prime accused Ashutosh Asthana tested at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here.
A three-member Bench, headed by Justice DK Jain, also asked the UP government to provide adequate protection to all accused and witnesses in the case relating to illegal withdrawal of Rs 23 crore from the PF accounts of class III and IV employees of district courts.
The Bench, which included Justices VS Sirpurkar and GS Singhvi, however, rejected the plea for a parallel CBI probe into the mysterious death of Asthana, who was a treasury officer at a Ghaziabad court and lodged in the Dasna jail in the district, on October 17.
The court issued the directives after hearing arguments on an application by Nahar Singh Yadav, president of the Advocates Welfare Association, Ghaziabad, seeking an inquiry by an independent agency without involving the UP police or the judiciary. Yadav has also filed the main petition in the PF scam.
The Bench clarified that the magistrate conducting the inquiry could take CBI’s help, if necessary. During the arguments, Attorney General GE Vahanvati said he had no objection to the plea for an independent inquiry by a special investigation team. Even the UP government said it was willing to cooperate in any inquiry ordered by the apex court.
