Don’t arrest Virbhadra Singh, Delhi HC tells CBI

R Sedhuraman
Legal Correspondent
New Delhi, April 6

The Delhi High Court today asked the CBI not to arrest Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh in the disproportionate assets (DA) case as he was ready to join the probe and cooperate with the agency.

Singh also need not be subjected to custodial interrogation, Justice Pratibha Rani clarified. Appearing for the CBI, Additional Solicitor General PS Patwalia told the high court that the investigation agency was not keen on doing either if Singh was willing to cooperate.

The Delhi High Court was hearing the CBI’s petition seeking vacation of the Himachal Pradesh High Court’s interim order restraining the agency from arresting and interrogating Singh, besides filing a chargesheet against him.

The Supreme Court transferred the DA case from Himachal High Court to Delhi High Court at the CBI’s instance.

Justice Pratibha Rani also did not accept the CBI’s plea for vacating the Himachal High Court’s interim order, observing that there was no need for this in the light of Singh’s assurance.

The CBI said its probe was stalled in the wake of the high court order despite the fact it had found some very serious facts.

Patwalia pleaded that the CBI should be given a free hand to conduct the probe and take the case to its logical conclusion.

Opposing this, Singh’s senior counsel Kapil Sibal and Ram Jethmalani pleaded that their client had already given all the documents to the CBI and if the agency wanted clarification on any of these the chief minister was prepared to do so.

Meanwhile, a Division Bench of the high court headed by Chief Justice G Rohini issued a notice to the Enforcement Directorate on a petition by Singh’s daughter Aparajita Kumari and son Vikramaditya Singh seeking quashing of ED’s March 23 order attaching their properties in a money laundering case.

The siblings pleaded that the ED had passed the order arbitrarily without having any authority to initiate attachment proceedings. The High Court has posted the next hearing for April 18, asking the ED to file its response before that.

The Supreme Court had transferred the disproportionate assets case to Delhi due to the fact that a similar case was pending in the Delhi High Court. Further, the CBI has registered the FIR against Singh in Delhi and two judges of Himachal Pradesh High Court had opted out of hearing the case.

While the CBI and the Income Tax Department had begun investigations following a PIL filed in the Delhi High Court, Singh had approached the Himachal Pradesh High Court challenging the raids conducted at his premises in Delhi and other places.

Singh had revised his IT returns for the three years in 2012, showing increased income from agriculture to the extent of about Rs 5 crore in a bid to justify the purchase of insurance policies.