CBI Bribery FIR: Delhi HC Seeks Response on Sana’s Plea to be Impleaded

While the Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Alok Verma petition is yet to be decided in the Supreme Court, the petition filed by the Special Director of the CBI, Rakesh Asthana, in the Delhi High Court continues. On December 11, the Delhi High Court has issued notice to the CBI, Rakesh Asthana, Alok Verma and Joint Director of the CBI, A K Sharma, seeking their responses to Satish Babu Sana’s plea to be impleaded in petition for quashing the First Information Report (FIR) against Asthana.

Hyderabad-based businessman Satish Babu Sana was one of the people investigated in connection with the Moin Qureshi case and was the complainant in the FIR against Asthana. Asthana was overseeing the Moin Qureshi investigation. In his complaint, Sana had alleged that he had made payments to both Asthana as well as the investigating officer (IO) Devender Kumar for ‘settling’ the case against him.

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Asthana’s plea concerning the FIR against him is that prior sanction ought to be sought before registering a FIR against a public servant under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Verma and Sharma have maintained that sanction is only required when the FIR pertains to actions taken while performing official duties. Whereas in Sana’s complaint, the allegations fell outside this purview. This stand was countered by Asthana’s counsel who argued that since Asthana had already written a complaint to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and the Cabinet against Verma, the matter concerns him discharging his official duties.

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On October 15, the CBI registered the FIR against Asthana and Kumar in connection with the complaint. On October 23, Asthana filed a petition in the Delhi High Court to quash the FIR against him and had raised counter-allegations of bribery against Alok Verma. On October 31, Devender Kumar secured bail in Delhi.

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On the same day, the Union Government placed both Asthana as well as Verma under suspension. The officers involved in investigating the allegations against Asthana were transferred as well. In early November, the Deputy Inspector General of the CBI, Manish Kumar Sinha, filed a plea in the Supreme Court against his transfer in which he levelled very serious allegations of corruption leading all the way to the National Security Adviser, Ajit Doval, as well as the Prime Minister’s Office.

At present, the Supreme Court has reserved its verdict on Alok Verma’s plea against the Union Government’s order which divested him of his powers and sent him on leave. The Delhi High Court has asked for the replies to be filed by the next date of hearing on December 14. Sana has also been asked to appear before the CBI on December 17.