Chandigarh, Oct 5 (PTI) The Punjab government will move the Supreme Court against the high court order handing over a probe to the CBI into the corruption allegations against high-ranking officials of the state government, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said on Monday.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday ordered a CBI probe into allegations involving high-ranking officials of the Punjab government, including an OSD to the chief minister, noting that the material shared by the Enforcement Directorate prima facie indicated their involvement in acts of corruption.
“We will challenge this matter in the Supreme Court,” Cheema said in his response to a question on the high court order.
A bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor also directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to register an FIR and submit a report within two months.
Finance Minister Cheema also cited a previous government’s decision of revoking general consent to the CBI for probing cases in the state.
In November 2020, the then Congress government revoked its general consent to the central agency for probing cases in the state.
According to the November 8, 2020 notification of the Punjab government, its prior consent would be required by the CBI to investigate any case in the state.
The high court order came on a public interest litigation filed by advocate Nikhil Saraf, who had sought an independent probe into the matter raised by the ED with the Punjab Police by writing letters to the DGP.
The ED wrote to the Punjab Police, seeking registration of an FIR on graft charges against a private person, Nitin Gohal, who allegedly acted as an intermediary between interested persons and Rajbir Ghuman, an officer on special duty to the Punjab CM.
The petitioner alleged involvement of senior officers of the state of Punjab in various scams, including “cash for transfers”; “cash for getting favourable policies”; “cash for tenders”; and such other “serious irregularities”, claiming that no investigation was carried out by the Punjab Police despite ED sharing information in this regard. PTI CHS KVK
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