New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a plea filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) seeking permission to proceed with a preliminary inquiry into the alleged irregularities in appointments and promotions in the Jharkhand Assembly.
A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran rejected the Central agency’s interlocutory application, making it clear that no CBI probe will be initiated in the matter.
Appearing for the Jharkhand Assembly, senior advocate Kapil Sibal argued that the proceedings were “politically motivated” and said: “Whenever such issues arise, the CBI jumps into the matter without any reason.”
Sibal told the CJI Gavai-led Bench that the apex court had already stayed the Jharkhand High Court-mandated probe, leaving no basis for the Central agency to move ahead.
On the other hand, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S.V. Raju, representing the CBI, submitted that serious irregularities had taken place and the agency ought to be allowed to conduct a preliminary probe.
Rejecting the contention, the Supreme Court held that the application was not maintainable. During the hearing, the top court passed sharp remarks on the conduct of investigative agencies in politically sensitive matters and said, “Why do you use the agency for your political battles? In many cases, we have said that investigative agencies should not be misused.”
The controversy stemmed from a plea filed by social activist Shiv Shankar Sharma before the Jharkhand High Court alleging large-scale illegal appointments in the Assembly.
The petition claimed that, in 2018, the then-Governor had flagged 30 points requiring action over alleged procedural violations, but no steps were taken. In September 2024, the Jharkhand High Court directed the CBI to conduct an enquiry, observing that the allegations were serious and involved “senior politicians and in the past holding a very high public post like Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of State of Jharkhand”.
“Since the high-ups of the State of Jharkhand are involved in fulfilling the various posts in Jharkhand Legislative Assembly, which has come in the report, hence it is not feasible to have a proper investigation if the matter would be investigated by the State Police/State agency,” the Jharkhand HC had said.
Challenging the order, the Jharkhand Assembly and the state government approached the Supreme Court, arguing that the Jharkhand High Court had, without strong justification, sidelined the state investigating machinery and made the CBI the first agency of probe.
After hearing the matter in November 2024, the Supreme Court stayed the Jharkhand High Court’s directive and said it would first decide whether the CBI could have been entrusted with the probe at the initial stage.
(IANS)
