M A I N   N E W S

Transfer of CD case to CBI
HC dismisses Virbhadra’s plea
Vijay Arora
Legal Correspondent

Shimla, October 1
The state Vigilance Department filed a challan in the audio-CD case against Union Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh and his wife Pratibha Singh in the Special Court after the High Court dismissed their petition seeking transfer of the case to the CBI here today.

The petition was rejected this morning and the challan under Sections 8, 9, 10, 13(1) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 120 of the IPC was filed in the evening.

Earlier, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Deepak Gupta observed that the case was under investigation. However, it was not proper for the court to issue a direction for change of investigating agency without seeing the police report.

The bench further observed that unless one saw the report under Section 173 (2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, police report or challan, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for the court to deal with the issue.

Therefore, the material collected and produced by the police along with the report under Section 173(2) had to undergo judicial scrutiny.

The bench observed that it was not a mechanical exercise of receiving the report and acting forthwith. Any further step can be taken only after perusing the report, which was to be filed before the court concerned.

A report under Section 173(2) was merely an opinion formed by the police on the basis of the information received and material collected at the time of investigation.

An FIR was registered in August 2009 against Virbhadra Singh and his wife under Section 13 (1) (d) (ii) and (iii) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act in which he was accused of misusing his position as the chief minister in 1989 and collecting money from various industrialists and others with the active support of his wife.

A CD which contained conversation on the alleged transactions in that regard was released on May 28, 2007, by former Congress minister Vijay Singh Mankotia and formed the basis of the FIR registered on August 3, 2009.