The Special Judge, CBI Court, Chandigarh, has issued notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on an application filed by Rajbir Singh Ghuman, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
Ghuman has approached the court seeking initiation of contempt of court proceedings against the CBI team probing the case registered against him and other accused persons.
According to the application, the CBI had earlier approached the court seeking exemption from uploading the FIR related to the case on its official website. The agency had cited the sensitive nature of the case while seeking the exemption. The CBI Court allowed the application.
Appearing for Ghuman, advocate Ferry Sofat argued that although the CBI had obtained an order from the court exempting it from uploading the FIR, the contents of the FIR were subsequently made available to the media and the public.
Sofat told the court that the FIR being made public despite the court's order amounted to disobedience of the court's directions. He alleged that the disclosure was intended to tarnish Ghuman's image.
The application seeks the production of records showing the sequence of events that led to the FIR becoming public. It also seeks initiation of contempt proceedings against the CBI team probing the case and all persons allegedly responsible for making the FIR available despite the court's order.
After hearing the arguments, the Special Judge issued notice to the CBI, directing the agency to file its reply by October 12.
The court's notice seeks the CBI's response to the allegations raised in Ghuman's application. The allegations made by Ghuman and his counsel are yet to be responded to by the CBI before the court.
The matter will now come up before the CBI Court after the agency files its response.