SC Saradha rein on Bengal police

TT, 15 December 2017, New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday restrained the Bengal government from summoning the CBI sleuths investigating the Saradha payment-default scam for questioning or hindering their probe after the agency approached it complaining of the local police's highhandedness.

The bench of Justices Arun Misra and M. Shantanagoudar issued a formal notice to the Bengal government to file its response on the matter. No date has been fixed for the next hearing.

"Issue notice. Till next date, officers of CBI not to be called by the state police. With respect to information also, the order passed by this court, in... Subrata Chattoraj vs Union of India... 2014... and other matters be complied with," the bench said.

Chattoraj had moved a public interest plea seeking a CBI probe into the Saradha case, which the court had accepted while ordering the state government not to raise any impediments before the investigation.

Friday's order came after the special CBI public prosecutor, K. Raghavacharyulu, told the court the police in Bengal had summoned senior CBI officers for questioning.

Raghavacharyulu told the bench that the local police had, despite the apex court's directions in 2014 and 2015 not to hinder the CBI probe, begun interfering with the agency's investigations.