Rakesh Asthana Gets Protection Till November 1 as Delhi High Court Gives More Time to CBI
The Central Bureau of Investigation had sought more time to file its respone, and the request was accepted by the Delhi High Court.
New Delhi, October 29: The Delhi High Court on Monday extended CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana's interim protection from arrest till November 1. The Central Bureau of Investigation had sought more time to file its respone, and the request was accepted by the Delhi High Court. The agency will maintain status quo in the ongoing probe involving Asthana.
During the hearing, the CBI sought more time to file reply saying that entire team had been changed, and case files are before the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC, which is looking into allegations. The high court agreed to give more time to the agency and posted the matter to November 1. On October 23, the court granted interim relief to Asthana. Under PM Narendra Modi, CBI is a Weapon of Political Vendetta: Rahul Gandhi.
In the last hearing, Asthana's lawyer and Senior advocate Amarendra Sharan pleaded to grant interim stay to the proceedings against the special director as he fears arrest because Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Devender Kumar has been arrested in the case. He insisted the court to issue direction to CBI not to take coercive steps against Asthana.
While the court granted protection from arrest to Asthana, it refused to grant stay on the probe and said that case is of serious nature. Asthana and Kumar have requested the court to call documents related to the case. Asthana's counsel told the court that the case was registered in an illegal manner with malafide intention.
Asthana, a 1984 batch Indian Police Service officer of Gujarat cadre, is accused of accepting a bribe of Rs 2 crore from a businessman who was under probe in the Moin Qureshi case to "wreck" the investigation. Qureshi is facing multiple cases of money laundering and corruption. The case was being examined by a special investigation team (SIT) headed by Asthana.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 29, 2018 03:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).