The Supreme Court on Thursday, adjourned the Punjab government's plea challenging a Punjab and Haryana High Court order directing a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into corruption allegations linked to the Punjab Chief Minister's Office. The matter will now be heard on Friday, October 9.
A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu was hearing Punjab's appeal seeking a stay on the High Court's directions. Senior advocate Vikas Singh appeared for the Punjab government.
The hearing was deferred because the case file reached Justice Sheel Nagu late. Justice Datta said the matter would be taken up the next day as the file had not reached his fellow judge. Justice Nagu, who previously served as Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court before being elevated to the Supreme Court, said he would study the case after receiving the file.
For now, the Supreme Court did not decide whether the CBI probe should be stayed or allowed to continue. Instead, it adjourned the Punjab government's plea for one day so that the bench could consider the case after Justice Nagu studies the file.
The next hearing is scheduled for Friday, October 9.
The Punjab government had approached the Supreme Court after the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered a CBI investigation into allegations of corruption involving people linked to the AAP-led state government.
The High Court had also directed the Punjab government and Punjab Police to hand over documents connected with the matter to the CBI. It asked the central agency to investigate and submit a report within two months.
The Supreme Court hearing comes after the CBI registered a case on October 6, a day after the High Court's order.
The agency named six people in its case, including two public servants, middlemen and associates. One of those named is an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) linked to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's office.
According to the CBI, the case concerns allegations that the OSD and his associates influenced or manipulated the postings of officers, including IAS and IPS officers, departmental proceedings, policy-related matters, administrative approvals, tender conditions, licensing matters, land-use conversion issues, property disputes and revenue and land-related matters.
The CBI has said the alleged activities were carried out in exchange for financial benefits.
The allegations before the High Court included claims of "cash for transfers" and payments for obtaining favourable policy decisions.
The Punjab government has opposed the High Court's decision and has asked the Supreme Court to stay its directions.
In its plea, the state government raised several legal objections to the High Court order.
One of the arguments concerns information shared under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Punjab has argued that the High Court treated such information as making registration of a CBI case unavoidable. The state has relied on the Supreme Court's 2022 judgment in the Vijay Madanlal Choudhary case in support of its argument.
The government has also challenged the direction to investigate decisions relating to transfers, tenders and policy matters. It argued that Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act requires prior approval before investigating certain decisions taken by public servants in the discharge of their official duties.
Punjab further argued that the High Court's order did not properly account for this legal requirement.
Another major argument made by the Punjab government relates to the CBI's jurisdiction in the state.
Punjab said that its general consent for the CBI to conduct investigations in the state has been withdrawn since November 8, 2020.
The state argued that the High Court's decision effectively allowed a central agency to enter the matter without establishing the exceptional circumstances required for such an investigation despite the withdrawal of general consent.
Punjab also argued that there was no finding that the state's own Bureau of Investigation was incapable of conducting the inquiry or that it was biased.
The government has therefore asked the Supreme Court to either stay the High Court's order or, alternatively, allow the Punjab Bureau of Investigation to complete a preliminary inquiry and submit an action-taken report to the court.
The Supreme Court has not yet ruled on Punjab's challenge to the CBI investigation.
The immediate development on Thursday was only an adjournment of the plea until Friday. The bench is expected to consider the state's objections to the High Court order after Justice Nagu has gone through the case file.
The High Court's directions, the CBI case and the allegations surrounding the CM office-linked officials are therefore now before the Supreme Court, which will have to consider Punjab's request for relief against the CBI probe.