Patna high court reserves order on contempt notice for CBI chief

A division bench of the Patna high court on Friday reserved its verdict on whether contempt proceedings should be initiated against the Central Bureau of Investigation's director for not completing the probe into the conspiracy aspect of the fodder scam.

The bench, comprising Justice S N Jha and Justice S J Mukhopadhyay, heard the matter in a jam-packed courtroom.

Additional Solicitor General K N Bhatt, appearing for CBI director Joginder Singh, said that the director neither filed a truncated case before the court nor delayed the investigation.

CBI Joint Director U N Biswas said there was no deliberate delay on the CBI's part in investigating the scam. The court said it was aware of the developments.

During the hearing, Bhatt also submitted that all the cases related to the conspiracy aspect of the scam should be amalgamated, but Biswas opposed it. The court did not pass any order on this issue, he asserted.

Biswas also apprised the court of the conspiracy behind all the 48 cases of the fodder scam. Arguing the case himself, the CBI officer said the scandal was a well-planned conspiracy.

Ravi Shankar, counsel for the petitioners, pleaded that the sanction for filing of chargesheets should not be delayed. As most of the accused were not holding prime posts, the chargesheets could be filed and the sanction sought later on, he added.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party has demanded that President's rule should be imposed in Bihar to avert any violence after the chargesheet is filed against Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav.

BJP spokesman Yashwant Sinha said Laloo Yadav was trying to push the state into a ''civil war'' in a desperate bid to save his chair and to divert people's attention from the impending CBI action.

Condemning the attempts by Janata Dal workers to prevent Biswas from leaving the high court, Sinha said the incident was an indication of the worsening law and order situation in the state.

UNI

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