News Analysis India

Tag: Rakesh Asthana

  • Plea for probe into complaint against NCB chief: SC to hear matter against HC order after 4 weeks

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court would hear after four weeks a plea by a dentist who has challenged the Delhi High Court order dismissing his petition seeking directions to the Centre, Central Vigilance Commission and CBI to probe and launch prosecution on his complaint against Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) chief Rakesh Asthana.

    The plea against the high court’s order came up for hearing on May 13 before a bench of Justices U U Lalit and B R Gavai.

    “At the request of the counsel for the petitioner, the matter is adjourned for four weeks,” the bench said in its May 13 order.

    The high court had on February 15 dismissed the plea filed by Chandigarh resident Dr Mohit Dhawan, who had sought directions to the Centre, CVC and CBI to investigate and launch criminal prosecution on his complaint against Asthana.

    The high court had rejected the plea with a cost of Rs 20,000 to be paid by the petitioner in favour of the Delhi High Court Legal Services Committee.

    In his plea filed in the apex court, Dhawan has claimed that the high court had erred in not appreciating that CVC has failed in “dispensing its constitutional duty” cast upon it by its “disappointing act of total inaction by just sitting over” the criminal complaint submitted by him against the senior IPS officer under the provision of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

    The plea alleged that the high court had not appreciated that both the CVC and CBI have failed to adjudicate upon the criminal complaints filed by the petitioner.

    The dentist had earlier moved the apex court seeking directions to investigate and launch criminal prosecution against Asthana, who also heads the BSF, on the basis of his allegations.

    However, he had on February 8 withdrawn the plea from the apex court and said that he would approach the high court to pursue the remedy.

  • Dentist in Delhi High Court for criminal prosecution of NCB chief Rakesh Asthana, judge recuses

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: A plea has been moved in the Delhi High Court by a dentist seeking directions to the Centre, Central Vigilance Commission and CBI to investigate and launch criminal prosecution on his complaint against Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) chief Rakesh Asthana.

    The matter was listed on Friday before Justice Yogesh Khanna who recused from the matter and directed that it be listed before another bench.

    The Chandigarh-based dentist, Dr Mohit Dhawan, had first moved the Supreme Court for criminal prosecution of Asthana based on his allegations that the NCB was indulging in extortion in connivance with other police officers.

    However, he had on February 8 withdrawn the plea from the apex court and said that he would approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court to pursue the remedy.

    Dhawan, in his petition filed through advocate Sushil Tekriwal, has contended that he had filed a complaint against Asthana, who also heads the BSF, before the CBI Director in 2019 but there has been no action or adjudication so far.

    The plea has also sought directions for providing adequate security to the petitioner in view of grave threats.

    The plea in the top court had alleged that Central Vigilance Commission and the CBI were sitting over the complaint for more then 16 months and not updating the petitioner on the status of the action taken and hence criminal prosecution be initiated against all such erring persons.

  • CBI vs CBI: Delhi HC allows Alok Verma to inspect case file relating to Rakesh Asthana

    CBI Director Alok Verma and Joint Director A K Sharma were on Wednesday allowed by the Delhi High Court to inspect in the CVC’s office the case file relating to FIR against the agency’s Special Director Rakesh Asthana. Verma was asked by Justice Najmi Waziri to go to Central Vigilance Commission’s office on Thursday after his counsel said there are allegations of mala fide against him in Asthana’s petition. He also allowed Sharma to go to the CVC’s office on Friday for inspecting the files.

    Regarding proceedings against Asthana, who has sought quashing of an FIR against him in a bribery case, the court extended till December 7 its order directing the CBI to maintain status quo.

    The court was hearing separate pleas of Asthana, Kumar and middleman Manoj Prasad seeking quashing of the FIR against them.

    In the previous hearing, the counsel for Sharma said he had incriminating evidence against Asthana and would place it before the court in a sealed cover, to which the court had asked him to file it before the CBI. The probe agency will then place the documents before it.

  • Special CBI Director Asthana moves HC on FIR against him in bribery case

    Special CBI Director Rakesh Asthana Tuesday moved the Delhi High Court against the lodging of an FIR against him in a bribery case.

    Asthana has sought the high court’s direction that no coercive action be taken against him.

    His petition was mentioned before Chief Justice Rajendra Menon, who allocated the matter to an appropriate bench that will hear it in the post-lunch session.

    The CBI had yesterday arrested its DSP Devender Kumar in connection with bribery allegations involving the investigative agency’s second-in-command, Asthana.

    Kumar, earlier the investigating officer in a case involving meat exporter Moin Qureshi, was arrested yesterday by the CBI on the allegations of forgery in recording the statement of businessman Sathish Sana, who had alleged to have paid bribe to get relief in the case.

    In his statement, Sana had purportedly said that he had in June this year discussed his case with Telugu Desam Party’s Rajya Sabha member C M Ramesh who, after speaking to the CBI Director, had assured him that he would not be summoned again.

    “From June onwards, I was not called by the CBI. I was under the impression that investigation against me is complete,” he is believed to have said.

    The CBI has now alleged that Kumar had fabricated this statement as an “afterthought…To corroborate the baseless allegations made by Asthana against CBI Director Alok Verma to the CVC (Central Vigilance Commissioner)”.

    They said the agency was also looking into the alleged role of other members of the special investigation team headed by Asthana.

    Asthana, who was booked by the agency on bribery charges in an unprecedented action, had complained against Verma on August 24, 2018.