Supreme Court asks petitioner seeking probe in 2008 agreement between Congress, Communist Party of China to approach High Court

The Supreme Court asked a petitioner seeking probe in 2008 agreement between Congress and the Communist Party of China to move an appropriate High Court with a fresh and proper petition..The three-judge bench of Chief Justice of India, SA Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian was hearing a plea by Advocate Shashank Shekhar Jha and journalist Savio Rodrigues seeking a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into a 2008 agreement signed between the then United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government headed by the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Communist Party of China..The Court asked Senior Counsel Mahesh Jethmalani as to how political parties of different countries enter into an agreement with each other and observed that legally, this is unheard of. Initially, the Court was inclined to allow the petitioner to withdraw the plea and file a fresh one with proper averments and said,."We will allow you to withdraw and file a fresh one. Make correct averments otherwise we will prosecute you. We have not heard a political party of one country entering into an agreement with political party of another country.".However, Jethmalani was then asked by the Bench as to why a High Court was not approached. The offences alleged in the petition all pertain to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and triable by the NIA, the Court was told and as such the Supreme Court directly was moved..But, the petitioner was then given the liberty to withdraw the petition and file a fresh one before the High Court.."High Court is the proper court and all relief can be granted by them. We can check their view too on this"Supreme Court said.The plea states that even after Rodrigues questioned Congress leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi about the agreement through his newspaper editorial and a Republic TV show hosted by journalist Arnab Goswami, the Gandhis have not responded to him..Plea filed in Supreme Court seeking NIA probe into 2008 agreement between UPA government and China.“Despite of having a hostile relation with China, Respondent No. 1 (Congress) had signed an agreement when it was ruling the collision led government and hidden the facts and details of the agreement from the country,” the PIL alleged..The said agreement was signed between Congress and the Communist Party of China in Beijing for exchanging high-level information and co-operation. Under the agreement, the two parties were to get the “opportunity to consult each other on important bilateral, regional and international developments”.The PIL alleged that the agreement “may have matter involving national importance.”.The PIL, which made Congress President Sonia Gandhi and party leader Rahul Gandhi respondents in the case, demanded that if not an NIA probe, there should be a Supreme Court-monitored CBI probe into it.In 2008, Sonia Gandhi had visited Beijing along with Rahul Gandhi and her daughter Priyanka Vadra, son-in-Law Robert Vadra and their two children to attend the opening of the Olympic Games, it is submitted.