The Supreme Court on Wednesday set aside the Uttarakhand high court’s two-year-old order directing Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register a corruption case against former state chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat.
The top court held that the high court order dated October 28, 2020, was issued suo moto without any specific prayer raised in the set of petitions. The top court even set aside the observations made by the high court alleging corruption against Rawat as the entire order was passed in violation of principles of natural justice without giving the ex-CM an opportunity of being heard.
Rawat earlier obtained a stay against the high court’s order till the matter was to be finally decided. A bench of Supreme Court justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar was convinced that the high court’s order is “unsustainable” as it was passed without hearing the appellant (Rawat).
Rawat’s counsel senior advocate ANS Nadkarni pointed out that corruption allegations against the ex-CM was part of a petition filed by journalist Umesh Sharma.
{{/usCountry}}Rawat’s counsel senior advocate ANS Nadkarni pointed out that corruption allegations against the ex-CM was part of a petition filed by journalist Umesh Sharma.
{{/usCountry}}Sharma was facing prosecution in a separate criminal case and had approached the high court for quashing the same. In his petition, Sharma alleged that Rawat took a bribe of ₹25 lakh in 2016. He also uploaded a video on a social media page of his channel, Samachar Plus in June 2020 showing documents in his possession of how Rawat, while he was in charge of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in Jharkhand, indirectly took a bribe from one Amratesh Singh Chauhan in return for making Chauhan the chairman of Gau Seva Aayog of Jharkhand.
Relying on this content, the high court in November 2020 directed the CBI to lodge a first information report (FIR) containing the allegations against Rawat.
“If allegations of corruption levelled against the people in high positions stay in society without them being inquired and cleared, it will neither help the society to grow nor the State to function efficiently,” the high court observed.
“Considering the nature of allegations levelled against Trivendra Singh Rawat, the chief minister of the state, it would be appropriate to unfold the truth,” it had noted.
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Setting aside the directions, the top court said, “The directions issued by the high court are wholly without jurisdiction and same are in violation of principles of natural justice. Under these circumstances, any observations made with regard allegation in para 8 of the petition (filed by Umesh Sharma before the high court) without giving any opportunity to the appellant (Rawat) cannot be sustained.”
Allowing Rawat’s appeal, the top court further held, “The directions contained in paragraph 155.6 and 155.7 (of the HC judgment) made while disposing of the writ petitions directing to initiate criminal proceedings/investigation against the appellant are hereby quashed and set aside.”
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal who appeared for Sharma told the Supreme Court that he never argued for a CBI probe before the high court but the charges against the ex-CM are serious. He submitted that there are WhatsApp messages by the CM, recorded conversations, and bank deposit receipts which need to be examined.
Sharma had accused Rawat of receiving the alleged bribe amount of ₹25 lakh into different accounts belonging to his relatives just before the day when demonetization was announced by the centre on November 8, 2016.