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Telangana asks SC to stop CBI from probing ‘poaching case’, gets no relief
The Telangana government argued that transferring of the investigation to the CBI would not serve the end of the justice, as the probe agency was under the control of the central government headed by the BJP
The Supreme Court on Friday turned down the request of the Telangana government to direct the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) not to proceed with the investigation into the alleged attempt to ‘poach’ four Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLAs into the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), people familiar with the matter said.
Arguing on behalf of the Telangana police, senior advocate Dushyant Dave said transferring of the investigation to the CBI would not serve the end of the justice, as the probe agency was under the control of the central government headed by the BJP.
A division bench of the Supreme Court comprising justices B R Gavai and Manoj Mishra also refused to entertain the plea of the Telangana government seeking a direction to the CBI at least not to make any arrests in the case till the investigation was completed.
The bench said it would not like to refrain the CBI from investigating into the matter at this stage and posted the matter to February 27 for further hearing.
“When the First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Telangana police had made allegations against the BJP members, how can the case be transferred to the CBI, which is under the control of the BJP-led central government?” Davi asked.
He said though the government had constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe into the case, the single judge of the state high court had quashed it.
Dave said there had been no progress in the investigation, after the petition was posted before the apex court. “We have not been able to move an inch forward. The charges are so serious that it would strike at the foundation of democracy,” he said.
Arguing on behalf of the BJP, senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani pointed out that Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had released a video and made a press statement making allegations that the BJP had attempted to poach four of his party’s MLAs.
Dave, however, asserted that the chief minister had released the video only after the FIR was lodged and it would no way affect the investigation. He pointed out that even the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) release evidence to the media houses whenever they conduct raids on any person in the opposition.
“There are no different standards for the opposition and the ruling party. It has become a norm of the day,” he argued.
