Supreme Court junks plea against Rakesh Asthana’s appointment in CBI

Closing all judicial avenues challenging the appointment of Gujarat cadre IPS officer Rakesh Asthana as the special director of the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Supreme Court Friday dismissed a curative petition filed by an NGO.

Closing all judicial avenues challenging the appointment of Gujarat cadre IPS officer Rakesh Asthana as the special director of the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Supreme Court Friday dismissed a curative petition filed by an NGO.

NGO Common Cause had last year filed a petition challenging appointment of Rakesh Asthana (pictured) as CBI special director. (PTI/File Photo)

A combination of top four judges of the court, Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Madan Lokur, Justice AK Sikri and Justice AM Sapre held, “We have gone through the curative petition and the connected papers. In our opinion, no case is made out. Hence, the curative petition is dismissed.”

NGO Common Cause had last year filed a petition challenging appointment of Asthana as CBI special director, claiming that the appointment was illegal, malafide and in violation of institutional integrity. The petition alleged that while Asthana was police commissioner in Surat in 2011, he regularly accepted money favours from Gujarat-based Sterling Biotech and Sandesara Group of companies.

But the top court dismissed the challenge to Asthana’s appointment. An SC bench said Asthana’s appointment cannot be struck on the basis of unverified diary entries against him.