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Setback for Virbhadra as HC rejects plea in CD case
Vijay Arora
Legal Correspondent

Shimla , September 3
The Himachal Pradesh High Court today dismissed the petition filed by Union Steel Minister and former state Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and his wife Pratibha Singh for quashing of an FIR registered against them in the infamous CD case.

After reserving his order on August 20, Justice Kuldip Singh gave the ruling in the court on Friday.

A two weeks’ time has been given to the former CM to file an appeal in the Supreme Court against the order. The court also refused to hand over the investigation of this matter to the CBI.

Virbhadra Singh and his wife were booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act on August 3, 2009. The case was registered on the basis of an audio CD released in 2007.

The complaint against Virbhadra Singh alleges misuse of his official position and criminal misconduct when he was the CM in 1989.

In the CD, Virbhadra was heard allegedly referring to some monetary transactions during his phone conversation with an IAS officer. It also allegedly contained the voices of his wife and some industrialists. Virbhadra Singh’s counsel argued that the cases were registered on the basis of a CD whose origin was not known. He said in the 1980s audio cassettes were in use and not CDs.

The counsel said the trail of present case would amount to the abuse of the process of law as the case has been registered after 20 years of the alleged offence. In their petition, Virbhadra Singh and his wife mentioned that there is no evidence about the date and time of recording of the alleged conversations.

The petitioners alleged that this FIR is politically motivated and the case is frivolous. The Forensic Science Laboratory had submitted the report on August, 8, 2008, but the FIR was registered after delay a year, they added. The state government contended before the court that the vigilance bureau has already completed investigations in the case and it intends to file the final report in the special court under whose jurisdiction the case falls.