Cash for PIL case: Jharkhand High Court orders CBI probe, refuses to quash case against complainant

The Jharkhand High Court on Wednesday directed Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take over probe into the contentious cash for PIL case where a lawyer is accused of demanding money in return for “managing” a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition [Amit Kumar Agarwal v Directorate of Enforcement]..Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi observed that the petitioner, who was initially the complainant in the case, has tried to scandalise the judiciary, Enforcement Directorate (ED) and government officials.“Particularly considering that Hare Street P.S. Case was registered with the police station, which was not within the jurisdiction of resident or office of the petitioner, which suggests that there is larger conspiracy to malign the image of judiciary, ED and other officials including the Court staff, which is a serious matter and this all has come in the investigation of the ED”, the single-judge recorded..It was stated that such an allegation could not be allowed to go unattended as the public expected a fair, honest and impartial inquiry.Therefore, the CBI was asked to initiate a preliminary inquiry into the conduct of the petitioner. It was ordered that such inquiry be concluded within fifteen days..The court passed the order while hearing a plea by the petitioner, a businessman, asking for ED proceedings against him to be quashed, hold that his arrest was without jurisdiction and enlarge him on interim bail.The petitioner had also sought the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the registration of the case.It was contended that he was a whistle-blower who has now been made an accused by the ED without jurisdiction..The ED’s counsel however argued that the petition sought to quash the ECIR case which is an internal document, and the prayer for quashing was misconceived. .The court agreed with the argument of the ED noting that there was sufficient evidence on record to show that the petitioner was trapping the accused lawyer Rajeev Kumar. Further, Justice Dwivedi stated that as per the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) whoever is party or actually involved in any activity connected with the proceeds of crime was guilty of offences under the act.“Admittedly, this petitioner has handed over the sum of Rs.50 Lakhs to Mr. Rajeev Kumar”, the court recorded. .It was observed that since Section 19 provides the power of arrest, the petitioner’s detention cannot be considered illegal. “The petitioner was produced before the learned court and was remanded to judicial custody. The petitioner has not complained anything and remand order is not under challenge.” In the same vein, the plea for interim bail was also rejected. .Considering transfer of investigation to the CBI, the court opined that it could only be done when there is sufficient material before it to come to a prima facie conclusion that there is a need for such an inquiry.However, taking into account the possibility of a larger conspiracy on the petitioner’s part, the court ordered the CBI to inquire into his conduct and disposed of the petition..Senior Advocate Arvind K Nigam and advocate Sahbaj Akhtar appeared for the petitioner.The respondents were represented by advocates Amit Kumar Das, Shivam Kumar Sahay, Sahay Gaurav Piyush, Rishabh Dubey, and Chandana Kumari..[Read Order]