The Supreme Court today stayed the Uttarakhand High Court’s direction to register an FIR Against CM TS Rawat after allegations of bribery were made against him by a journalist.
The Bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy and MR Shah stayed paragraphs 155.6, 155.7, and 155.8 of the High Court judgment passed on October 27 for FIR Against CM TS Rawat.
Appearing for Chief Minister Rawat today, Attorney General KK Venugopal stated that the High Court had erred in ordering a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe against the CM, who was not a party to the case.
He said,
“The CM was not a party in this case and the High Court ordered a CBI probe. This is against Supreme Court verdicts which disallow destabilizing the government, as such verdicts demand resignation of the CM, which is happening.”
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the journalist who levelled the allegations against the CM, stated that the matter is serious as there are WhatsApp messages and bank accounts linked to the allegations against Rawat.
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who also appeared for the CM, submitted that the High Court order was in violation of law.
Justice Shah noted that “everyone was taken by surprise” after the High Court exercised its suo motu powers under Article 226 when there was no such issue raised by the petitioners. Justice Bhushan observed,
“The CM was not a party and such a drastic order has been passed.”
The Court thus issued notice in the petition, after staying portions of the October 27 judgment of FIR Against CM TS Rawat . The matter will be heard after four weeks.
The Uttarakhand High Court on Tuesday called for a CBI probe into allegations of corruption levelled against Rawat. It had also directed the police to register an FIR to investigate allegations of corruption made against the CM by journalist Umesh Sharma.
While doing so, the Court allowed a plea filed by Sharma seeking to quash an FIR Against CM TS Rawat this year for publishing a video containing these allegations.
