Kolkata, September 13: The Calcutta High Court on Friday ruled in favour of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), allowing the premier agency to arrest former Kolkata police commissioner Rajiv Kumar. The bench has not ordered the arrest of Kumar, but only granted the CBI the permit to take the top cop into custody for his alleged role in the Saradha chit fund case. It is upto the investigators whether they want to arrest Kumar now, the court said. TMC Leader Satabdi Roy Returns Money Which She Got as Brand Ambassador From Saradha Group to ED.

The CBI would, however, have to justify the move whenever Kumar is taken under arrest. The order is a setback for the ex-Kolkata police chief, who had moved the High Court against the agency's move to arrest him. Kumar's counsel had alleged that he was deliberately being framed by the premier agency due to the purported political clash between the Centre and the state.

Update by ANI:

The CBI had first moved to arrest Kumar on February 1 this year. However, the agency sleuths were unable to take him into custody as the state government had ordered the police to prevent the arrest. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had then staged a dharna in the state capital, accusing the Narendra Modi-led central government of trampling upon the principles of federalism.

Kumar had subsequently moved the High Court, seeking the quashing of the arrest warrant issued by the CBI against him. Meanwhile, a counter plea was filed in the Supreme Court by the top investigative body, seeking judicial nod to arrest him.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 13, 2019 03:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).