The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a notice to Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati on a petition asking for review of the court’ s earlier order to quash the CBI’s disproportionate assets (DA) case against her.
A bench of justice P Sathasivam and justice Dipak Misra asked the Centre and the CBI to respond to Lucknow-resident Kamlesh Verma’s review petition.
On Tuesday, Mayawati, speaking at a public rally in Lucknow, said a final decision about outside support to the Congress-led UPA government would be taken at the BSP national executive meeting on Wednesday.
The bench sought to clarify that its July 6 order did not come in the way of either the CBI or any individual moving afresh on the issue before the court.
But Verma’s counsel, senior advocate Shanti Bhushan, said it was against the court’s earlier decrees permitting the agency to probe her alleged disproportionate assets.
When Bhushan said the Supreme Court should take steps to book the “guilty”, the bench asked him, “Is this your case that this court is protecting her (Mayawati)?”
Replying in the negative, Bhushan said, “But it would be the result of your order.”
“We will issue notice and then we will decide. We are not saying anything on merits now,” the bench said.
The Supreme Court had quashed the nine-year-old case and pulled up the CBI for exceeding its jurisdiction by lodging an FIR without any court direction.