Time to scrap CBI, says Rajasthan HC

The Rajasthan high court on Friday blasted the CBI for giving special favours to a top police official and a Bharatiya Janata Party MLA, accused in the Dara Singh fake encounter case, saying it was high time the agency was "shut down".

A single-judge bench of Justice Mahesh Chandra Sharma observed the objectives with which the CBI was established had been compromised and the CBI was proving counterproductive.

He told the CBI that "you people salute an accused, offer him tea" and facilitate judicial custody for some people, while getting police custody for the maximum duration for other accused in the same case.

The remarks came on a petition filed by a head constable, Jagram, who was allegedly part of the police team that killed a Churu-based liquor gang member, Dara Singh, in October 2006.

Jagram, who has been in jail for 11 months, accused the CBI of delaying the trial.

Altogether, 13 people have been arrested in the case so far. Of them, then DGP (crime) A K Jain surrendered before the court and was remanded in custody for 13 days.

Another accused BJP MLA Rajendra Rathore was arrested and sent to jail on Thursday by the CBI court on charges.

The CBI did not seek his remand for interrogation and filed a supplementary charge-sheet. Ajay Kumar Jain, counsel for Jagram, claimed that the CBI summoned only non-material witnesses and his prayer to call material witnesses was rejected by the CBI judge.

The high court said, "This is travesty of justice."